Seventh Day
by Skymos
Summary: CH1 to 15, Chapters 1, 2 and 5 Updated. First draft stage. 2 years after the events of The Last of Us, Joel and Ellie are travelling together once again. Their journey ties them in with a man on a mission, a woman who can save humanity, and a syndicate dedicated to our destruction. The story of Adam and Eve has never been so important.
1. Chapter 1 - Prologue

"Hey! Find a knife or something yet?"

"No. Ain't nothing here but rotten food and broken records."

"Damn. That really _cuts_ me up."

Joel let out an exhausted sigh. They'd been on the road for a couple of months now, and things had only gotten progressively worse as they strayed further from Tommy's. He knew she was just trying to lighten the mood, to distract them from the rumbling in their stomachs. Part of him was grateful for that; but the part he showed was all business, and that part had a hunger that desperately needed sating. Ellie could go longer without food than he could; she was smaller, and had smaller requirements. His stomach growled so loudly it almost reverberated around the dingy, damp room.

They had arrived in a tiny, abandoned town-stead about an hour ago on the premonition they'd find something along the lines of food. It'd been easy enough to enter the town's limits, with only a rusted chain-link fence standing as vanguard around the small mass of buildings around a main highstreet. His suspicions had been raised when they came across a laceration in the metal, long and slender, just at ground height and big enough for a person to squeeze through, that'd been made recently. The tips of the wires were still a glistening grey where they had been severed.

"C'mon, kiddo. Cut the wise cracks and help me find something. We're gonna need to get through this door quick; we don't know what's up here."

It had been a friendly departure from his brother's little township set-up, and one left on good terms, although it was slightly abrupt. Tommy observed as much, and as such had questioned Joel in great detail trying to wean the real reason out of his elder brother. To Tommy, and Ellie, the reason was simply that the duo needed to move on, never staying in one place for too long with the remnants of the Fireflies still out there – and possibly on their tail. The true reason hung laboriously at the back of Joel's conscience. It didn't scream at him, and he didn't have an overwhelming urge to come clean – instead it sat there, persistent, almost forcibly whispering at him. It reminded him constantly as to why they truly left the town in Jackson. Joel needed to keep both Tommy and Ellie safe; not from Clickers or Fireflies, but from himself. The things he'd seen and the things he'd done had all chipped away at his humanity, continuing to eat at the tiny sliver that remained after Sarah's death, all those years ago. Tommy's place was meant for people to start again, and Joel pondered whether what he'd done rendered him eligible for that category.

"Something like a credit card'll do just as well. We just gotta pop the lock."

"Gotcha. I'm gonna check the closet."

Regardless of his classification, he still had a duty to protect Ellie, with his life. He'd always be too proud and too stubborn to tell her, but she filled a hole in his heart that hadn't been occupied in years. He of all people knew the risks tied to travelling with someone he cared about, especially a minor; but he loved her. No two ways about it. He was driven by this love that had been forged through grief, and it gave him surprising strength in his harder moments. He had written himself off after Sarah had died, thinking of himself as nothing but a wad of meat with a brain that could carry out tasks and kill people without feeling. Ellie was more than that, and she gave him back a part of his personality that was almost irretrievably lost. She turned him, over their journey, from beast back to man again. He wasn't going to lose another daughter, though; the beast would come back whenever she was in trouble.

He heard her holler to him from another room, her voice slightly muffled through the damp-stained plasterboard wall to his left.

"Ah! Here we go. Whoa, holy shit…"

"What've you got there?" He asked cautiously as he moved, swiftly entering the small supply closet she'd found. As he rounded the corner and struck his head around the doorframe, a sickly and repulsive smell seeped towards him. A corpse, a man, dressed in faded formal wear, matted with blood and with a slight orange skin tone, hung loosely in the corner of the closet, resting up against the wooden boxes where he'd met his end. A large, glinting, over-the-top knife was lodged in the front of his skull, creating the source of the dried mahogany-coloured streams that traced the front of his face.

She pried the weapon out of the corpse's head, turned, and showed it to Joel.

"A huge fucking knife. I've never seen one this big! What's it used for, like hunting or something?"

He chuckled softly, taking the knife from her grasp and giving it the once-over.

"No, kiddo. This ain't nothing more than a show-piece owned by some two-bit collector. This infected was probably its first blood, and eight to five that it wasn't the man who owned it who made the kill."

"Fair enough. Still, it's incredible."

He kneeled down next to her, and let her examine it too.

"Never thought I'd hear a sixteen year old girl talk so high of knives." He said, with a tone that almost modelled surprise, but sounded more like uneasy acceptance.

"Hey, knives are cool." The girl replied, transfixed with the glistening metal. "Plus, it's shiny."

"Simple pleasures, eh?" He replied jokingly. "Look here." He gestured to a fold in the metal, a small, almost undetectable dark grey line, and continued.

"This is how you tell the quality of your equipment. This is a nice knife, resembles a Kukri, but it's poorly made. It's been poorly tempered, and is way too malleable. Notice how the steel has blunted along the edge just by going through a skull? Means it ain't good for nothing but opening cans."

"Or maybe doors."

"I'll give you that one. Let's see if we can get through the one giving us so much trouble."

They walked together, in silence, and stopped at the peeling, vaguely green woodendoor. Joel gently eased the blade of the Kukri through the crack between the wooden door. He slipped the knife deftly between the door and the frame, carefully guided the blade downwards, and slid the blade underneath the metal rod that held it fast into the wall. There was a small click as the bolt gave just enough lee-way for the tip of the blade to be nestled in between the bolt and the metal stop on the door.

Joel added leverage, heaved, and the door sprang open, screeching with rust as it exposed the room in front of them.

The smell hit them first, then the sight.

The back door of the store they'd emerged into was open, leading into the dusky evening light of the town. The opening in the wall had no effect on the stench of the four rotting corpses in the room, however. It was impossible to tell their genders now; they had been killed a while ago, and the pink fleshy masks they once wore were receding, exposing chunks of yellowish-white bone underneath. They were too far gone. Joel edged into the room carefully, easing his matte-grey snub nose revolver from its clasp in his belt, and almost silently, pulled the hammer backwards, releasing a dull click that passed through the air in the room.

"Stay behind me, Ellie."

A quick sweep of the room revealed nothing out of the ordinary; just corpses and abandoned possessions. Joel beckoned Ellie to shut the door leading into the street, and moved forward quickly to examine the bodies. Ellie moved warily around one of corpses lying on his face right next to the doorway, and moved to shut the opening in the storefront. The rusting, blue metal of the door swung inwards, and the youth gently popped it into its frame as not to make any unnecessary noise.

He glanced at each of the corpses, what flesh remained on their faces a crisp white. They were dead, but none had turned. He kneeled down, and examined the red-ring of ligature marks around one of the people's wrists.

"Alright… looks like a torture situation gone haywire. One of the victims got free and took down their captor."

"Did anyone get out?"

"Not by the looks of it. That one that threw the door open before he died was shot by this one."

He traced a line, from the corpse lying next to the door to the one lying in front of the chair, playing out the situation in his mind.

"This one in the chair was tortured and killed." His eyes danced around, putting the pieces together. "The one on the table was his buddy. Looks like he got shot."

"So what happened with the two geared-up ones?"

Joel calculated possible options. One sprang to mind a lot faster than was comfortable, along with a sense of de-ja vu.

"I reckon, this one by the chair got wounded and his buddy left him to die, only to get shot in the back."

"How'd you know?"

Joel sighed as he remembered.

"Been on both sides."

Ellie chose not to reply, simply turning her head away from the mess and observing the wares in the shop. It'd been cleared out, probably by other survivors, and only a few intermittent items remained. There were posters of movies, some boy band the teen girls were crazy about back then, and one of those thick, black gaming consoles he'd been awful at. The sixteen year old, auburn haired, inquisitive girl he was travelling with stared in awe at these miscellaneous items, trying to conjure up thoughts about what that time would've been like. He felt slightly guilty as he watched her traipse around the store, trying to imagine something his selfish eyes had known all too well. Joel didn't have many rules of survival, but a fundamental one was that they didn't talk in great lengths about their pasts. Before the outbreak was boring, and afterwards was hell. He'd seen and done horrors, most of which he still hadn't revealed. She'd been through hell, but some of the things he'd decided were right would've made her stomach turn. Still, they were fine together; what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

He moved over to the more geared corpse lying beside the chair, knelt next to him and turned him over, his rotting eyes spinning around to stare vacantly at the damp ceiling. The person was a male by body structure, and a Caucasian by skin colour – he'd also been young; barely over 30, if that. He was kitted thoroughly, with mercenary's equipment; stuff that'd been made relatively new, not scavenged from dumpsters or abandoned houses or fuck knows where. His grip had stiffened as he'd died, and his lifeless fingers clasped a matte-black pistol in his left hand, still pristine despite its endeavour with it owner. Joel carefully pried the gun from the dead man's fingers, along with taking a couple of magazines he found in the man's vest. On his left breast, the man wore a symbol, almost resembling a crest – a faded but ornate red circle, made of vines, with an elaborate blade cutting through the uppermost point, perpendicular. He thought he knew the crest from somewhere, but he couldn't place it. The military wore no symbols anymore, so this discovery bothered him.

"Ellie?" He hollered, snapping the teen out of her daydreaming.

"Yeah?"

"Check that other character over there."

She moved warily over to the corpse by the door, and turned to Joel.

"What about him?"

"He got a logo emblazoned on his breast?"

"Yeah, a red circle with a sword in it or something. I don't know."

One was a coincidence; it could've easily been a sign or symbol from before the breakout, on a jacket that had no meaning anymore. Two, however, was not. A group had passed through, tortured people, and lost two of their own. Joel wasn't about to take any risks.

"Ah, shit." He muttered quietly under his breath. He doubled around, and turned to the girl. "You be careful, okay? Might be we have to deal with hunters."

"Way ahead of ya." Ellie cocked and reloaded a pistol she'd picked up, matte black, pristine, and identical to the one Joel had sourced from the other dead mercenary. They had the same gear, too – this was way more than mere coincidence. Joel remained agitated, and at alert as he decided his next move.

"C'mon. Let's head out and see what there is to see."

The two carefully edged out of the building and into the street, gently shutting the rusted navy-blue escape door behind their departure from the storefront. The shining orange light of dusk had bathed the dilapidated high street in gold, and painted the fauna that was slowly reclaiming the town. Cracked concrete and glass were giving way to shrubs and trees, and the air was slowly getting colder as the days grew shorter. Winter was coming, and it would prove no easier than the winters Joel had weathered before. They'd spent two at Tommy's, surrounded by family and friends, with warm food and warm beds. The life in the wild was a much harsher and deadlier reality; their first year back in the sticks was going to prove a rude awakening, to say the least.

When Joel had told Ellie they had to leave, he'd lied. His ability to lie to her was beginning to frighten him. Joel's motive was almost akin to boredom, although he didn't want that word anywhere near his excuses. She'd never look at him the same way again.

"This pistol," Ellie began, examining the gun she'd picked up, "is almost new, and ... really clean. Haven't seen anything like it since Boston."

"You won't have. This stuff here's military grade."

"Bandits have military grade weapons?"

"Seems so." He turned to her and looked her in the eyes, holding her shoulder.

"Just be watchful. I'm guessing these guys are long gone, but there ain't any reason to let your guard down."

"I know. I'm surprised we haven't seen infected. Reckon this place might be a set-up?"

"I don't know. There's a storefront over here, let's have a look."

Joel cautiously approached another storefront, this time a grocery store. Vines and crawlers hung limp over the sunlight-faded sign, of which the writing was indiscernible. forced his way gently through the rotting wooden door, still somehow on its hinges. A creak accompanied them as they entered the shop, treading carefully over the broken glass of the bay windows that had been broken in long ago. Joel busied himself searching the remnants of the stock on shelves for anything of worth, while Ellie wandered around the rest of the store. Bric-a-brac and other useless items populated the floor, and all the cans on the shelves were either rotten through or empty. A lonely cash register hung open, its metal tray drooping under the strain of corrosion.

His stomach throbbed as he kept searching, driven by an animalistic impulse for food, while Ellie busied herself gazing into posters that littered the walls, reflecting the glory days of man.

Ellie glanced over rusted cans and empty plastic wrappers, scanning the shop for anything of value. She turned from the left wall to the right, and then to the centre. A cache of food lay on the main counter, just behind the ruined cash register. Behind it, a strange black stock-like shape jutted outwards into the air.

"Holy shit… Joel?" She walked over to the counter-top, and laid her hand gently on the stock of the pristine assault rifle laying behind fresh cans of food.

Joel turned, and he saw the bait as plain as day where he'd overlooked it before. His heart sank.

"Ellie, don't!" He began. "It's a-"

The tell-tale glint of a scope appeared in his peripheral. Adrenaline filled his brain as realisation struck home hard. Everything around him slowed, and to his right, outside the store, a dull pop was followed by a dart whistling through the air and striking Ellie in the neck. She teetered, and then fell to the floor, her small body lying in unconsciousness. A non-human instinct kicked in, and he sprinted to her side, covering the length of the store in mere seconds.

"Ellie!"

A door flung open somewhere behind him – he didn't know where, and he didn't care. He arrived at her side, picked her up off the floor, and eased the needle gently out of her neck. It landed at his side, and broke into thousands of miniscule fragments, the remainder of the liquid it carried dripping lightly onto the floor.

"Ellie? Ellie! It's okay, baby girl, I got you-"

A hand grabbed the back of his hair, and excruciating pain shot through his mind as the grip-covered glove nearly tore it out. He answered by picking up the Kukri that was sheathed in Ellie's belt, spinning around and ramming it straight into the attacker's gut. A plume of crimson erupted out of the grey urban camouflage, and the man reeled backwards, choking, collapsing behind them in a blood-covered and writing heap. Two more followed, and brutishly pushed him away off of her, slamming him down onto dirt-smelling floor of the convenience store. A powerful gloved hand pressed the side of his head into the dust, and an all too familiar sensation of handcuffs came from his wrists.

He glanced briefly to the street, long enough to see the sniper stand and the red circle emblazoned on his grey uniform to stand out to him, before the butt of a gun crashed into the side of his head and everything went dark.


	2. Chapter 2 - Keeping a Watchful Eye

There was nothing in his mind but trauma.

Had the events of the day actually happened? He couldn't remember. His head throbbed maliciously, blocking out all forms of calculation and sensible thought. A natural and musty smell of sweat and canvas hung over him, mixed with the steel-flavoured stench of artificial smoke. Every time they drove over a lump in the terrain, it was like being knocked out all over again.

The men who'd attacked them… one of them was dead, at least. Joel had seen to that personally. He managed to take some humour from the fact that the Kukri had managed to kill a man after all; Ellie's amazement hadn't been in vain.

Ellie. He didn't even know if she was alive.

The thoughts came crashing back into his mind, hurting far more than the gun-butt had. He'd never be able to forget the dart crashing into her throat, the sound she made as she fell to the floor, the final splutters of the man he killed… and the red circle emblazoned on the sniper's tac-vest.

He stirred slightly, and then stiffened as he controlled himself, sensing presences in the back of the truck alongside him. Moving would be a stupid and fatal mistake – all they'd do is put him under again, and not with a method as kind as tranquiliser dart. His head was damp where his blood had matted his hair, and pain poured from it, almost unbearably; regardless, he stayed stock still, as to not alert his captors. There was nothing he could do but lie and listen.

"… Yeah, we did. Some punk kid and her dad. Little bitch bit me when she woke up, can you fucking believe it? Despite that, the idiots walked right into the trap. I tell ya – losing Jake and Skip may not've been so bad after all! We thought the mess would scare people off, but I guess they were just too damn eager."

Another voice spoke.

"Or hungry, genius. That's a nice rifle we left out in the store, though. Shame. It'd be put to much better use popping infected than rotting on a counter-top."

"Stop whining, just 'cause you can't hit shit with yours!"

A third.

"Enough! We've gotta keep this situation under wraps. If anybody leaks that we've set this town up, the Watcher's bound to find out. If he turns up, I ain't taking him down as easy as that girl."

"The Watcher? What, you been living under a fucking rock or something?"

"What?"

"Krass pulled the Watcher in ten days ago. He managed to flank around the bastard as he tried to snipe out one of our hunting teams, luckily enough. He's tied up tighter than a tourniquet; he ain't getting out of the base."

"Holy shit… you mean that bastard's been in the base for the last week? Fuck! He killed half of my guys!"

"Relax, idiot. If Krass ain't killed him already, then he's been beaten to a fucking pulp."

A fourth voice, now. Fighting his way out wasn't an option given his injuries. He'd have to ride this out until he got a decent chance.

"Guys… who the hell is the Watcher?"

"So you're the one who's been living under a rock, eh Rookie? Fill him in, Fitz."

"We didn't know who or what he was until Krass captured him, but he's made ends meet by going round the country and slaughtering people like us. He 'saves' the idiots we capture, without realising that we need to survive too. He rescued so many that he became a fucking legend, claiming he 'watches over the innocent' or some shit. He's nothing more than a cold-blooded motherfucker who's been constantly harassing our operations. And, he's got ties to the boss. That's why he sent Krass after him. That's why we're here."

"Wha… what? I thought we were here to bait survivors and take their shit, not be cannon fodder for some supersoldier!"

The third voice sighed. "Isn't everyone just cannon fodder nowadays, Rookie?"

Joel sat there, unmoving, listening attentively to their conversation. The imbeciles, in their ignorance, had given Joel a lead; he needed to find and spring this 'Watcher' guy if he wanted any chance of getting himself and Ellie out alive. And also, to his advantage, their conversation told him that their syndicate wasn't in the best of shapes. This 'Krass' they kept mentioning sounded like a tough character, but Joel had met worse. He was sure they'd meet soon enough, if he was high ranking in the group. The sniper spoke up again.

"So, how's the outpost holding up? I've been on recon for the last few days. Wasn't there an infected scare?"

"Yeah, but it was nothing." Fitz replied. "Some dumbass blew a cylinder in an engine and the noise was loud as fuck. We had a few runners, nothing else."

"Still though, I'm shocked to hear they came so far out of the cities. It's unusual."

"Yeah, but nothing a few bullets can't fix."

The air was getting colder, gradually; it was nearing night again. It'd been dusk when they'd been captured… how long had he been out? A day? The cramping in his body told him it was at least twelve hours since they'd started driving. The thought of Ellie being alone with these hunters was almost too much to bear; she wasn't in the same truck as him, the way they were talking. With a little luck, he'd been out for most of journey, and they'd reach their destination soon. He just needed to see her, and know she was alive. He couldn't think straight until he had that security.

"Oh my god… we getting close yet? My ass is fucking killing me."

"Get out and walk then, you wimp."

"Ignore Fitz, Rookie. We're not going to the main base; we're going to the outpost. Krass wants this fuck and his daughter."

"Why? What's he gonna get out of some kid and her attack dog?"

"Dunno. All I do know is that they came from the south. Ring any bells?"

"Oh, right. You're talking about that survivor town down near Jackson? I heard we were gonna make a hit there. Think they might know something? We still don't know where it is, or who's guarding it."

"Details. It can wait a while. We're almost there, and Krass wants a debrief from us."

Joel was glad he was awake to hear that. By survivor town, they obviously meant Tommy's. No one else had any supplies for a hundred miles, and he was the only one with a set-up in that area. He committed that to memory, making sure to remember to warn Tommy, or alternatively, kill every one of these hunters.

The truck shuddered to a stop, and Joel smacked his head against the metal exterior. It was all he could do not to cry out. He heard the shifting of feet, and the opening of the back of the truck; two of the men, he couldn't tell which, grabbed him under the arms and pulled him out. He stayed limp to play coy, and let them drag him across the dirt. He knew now was not the right time to strike, and any abrupt movement would lead to an unavoidable death. He sensed a compound, a wide, open area – and people populating it. He could hear the dull thrum of voice, interspersed with the odd growl off an engine.

A man in the distance yelled something - he missed what it was. The man on his left replied, identifying him as Fitz, the surly one from the truck. There was a loud creak of hinges swinging, and he felt them pass through an entrance into a building, where the air was warmer and dryer than it had been outside. It wasn't comforting to him at all, as the place reeked of antiseptic… and blood. Slowly, realisation came that he was in somewhere far worse than a prison.

The men had mentioned that they were headed to Krass' outpost. He vainly wondered whether the Watcher would be here, being interrogated in one of the cells.

Another man muttered something, and they passed through another door. Fitz and the other man carrying him lowered him down onto a plastic chair, and closed the door just in time to catch the noise of a muffled scream further down the corridor. Fear rippled down his spine in a cold, unforgiving shudder.

They tied him, hands and legs, to the chair. Any chance to escape was now long gone. The chains were rusted, but steadfast, lashing him firmly to the thin metal legs of the chair.

"Open your eyes." A voice spoke in front of him.

Joel didn't know if the command was directed at him, but he only just managed to comprehend it – the voice who delivered it was thick with a foreign accent he hadn't heard in decades. The sound of a Russian.

"I'm not stupid, and neither are you. These two idiots may have thought you were dreaming, but I know you're awake."

Joel didn't move, and didn't respond. The interrogator was undoubtedly targeting him, and he vainly hoped the Russian was bluffing, acting on a gamble.

"Open your eyes and look at your daughter. She's here to say hello."

His resolve wavered, and vanished. He carefully opened his eyes and raised his head to look forward.

"Ah, ah! Fuck you, let him go!"

The man was there, holding Ellie by the hair, a gun to her head. Fitz and the other man, who turned out to be the sniper, were standing behind the chair Joel was seated at.

"As much as I hate to introduce myself on bad terms, I'm afraid I am rather short on time." The hammer of the pistol clicked backwards, the barrel aimed at Ellie's head. "My name is-"

"Krass…" Joel uttered.

A wide grin cut across the man's gaunt, pale and menacingly sharp face.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat? Maybe speak up a little."

"Krass." Joel stated firmly, meeting the man's gaze, a look of sheer anger spread across his face. "Your dumbasses in the car weren't quiet about you."

Krass was slightly taken aback, and shot Fitz and the sniper a murderous glare.

"I thought I told you to knock captives out." He snapped, impatient. "How long was he awake for?"

"Uh, I… I dunno, boss." The thick man, Fitz, responded, stuttering as he was addressed.

Krass swallowed his anger, a look of grim distaste contorting his unusual face. A vein tensely stood out of his neckline where he repressed his displeasure. He looked back to Joel.

"As my… 'colleagues' have no idea how much you overheard, I'm afraid I'm going to have to skip the formalities. I hope you understand."

Krass was the complete opposite of what Joel had imagined – he'd envisioned a brutish individual, large and stupid, with a shaved head and short temper. What actually stood before him was quite different; he was a tall, lean man, although undoubtedly strong, with a thick and surprisingly well kept mop of jet-black hair that outlined blue eyes, too cool to be merciful, that hid something darker and scarier within. He also obviously had brains in his head, unlike his idiotic coworkers. This one would be dangerous; his pristinely straight, white smile screamed that as much as his feigned courtesy did.

"J… Joel? I'm so sorry." Ellie admitted, cringing under Krass' grip on her hair.

"Ah ah ah, young one." Krass slapped her. "Speak when spoken to."

"You bastard." Joel blurted, his anger flaring. Fitz followed it by hitting him in the face.

Krass wrestled with Ellie, keeping a firm grip on her hair. He laughed as he placed the gun back to her head, almost gaining vitality from the situation.

"He's a tough one, is he? That's a shame. You see, I've managed to break even the most resilient individuals. But only because… they refused to give me what I want. So I'll make this simple for you. Give me -"

"- What you want, and you'll let me go?"

Krass cracked a smirk, one far from being pleasant, reeking with horrific intent and it spread across his face.

"I see you've been in this situation before. Very well."

The Russian handed Ellie to the sniper, pulled over another chair, and sat down in front of Joel. It was typical interrogation strategy to cosy up to your victim, pretending to be courteous, but subconsciously intimidate him to breaking point, and then some. Joel wasn't intimidated easily, but even he was wary of Krass. There was something more to this man than met the eye.

"You see… Joel, is it? I have a small issue. Surviving nowadays is difficult business, and no-one wants to share food or resources with the cast-outs of society! They all want to rebuild, to start a new world for people. Unfortunately for us, we're no longer fitting for that name, as I'm sure you know. So, we have to source our income from any ways possible, if you catch my drift."

"You look well off enough already." Joel countered, the anger rising in his voice.

Krass remained cool and composed, his earlier anger forgotten.

"We're not fairing badly, I'll admit… but my superior has different plans."

He reached over to the table, and picked up a map of Missouri.

"There's a survivor's town somewhere in the vicinity of Jackson County. You tell me where, and you and your daughter can go free."

Joel stared at the map for a few moments, then looked Krass in the eyes, staying silent.

"Don't do it, Joel!" Ellie yelled from the other side of the room. "Fuck these guys! All they'd do is-"

"Shut up, bitch!" Fitz yelled, striking Ellie again. Joel reddened, and gave Krass an unforgiving look. These men had marked themselves for death.

"Enough, idiot. Leave the girl alone." Krass turned to meet Joel's enraged glare.

"You don't want to make the wrong choice here, old man."

Joel spat.

"I ain't telling you shit." He spoke, straining the syllables of each word with added hatred.

Krass paused for a moment, nodded politely, thrown slightly by his failure to persuade Joel out of information, and proceeded from there.

"Very well. I'll be sure to tell them how valiantly you fought when I kill them all. Fitz, lock the girl up in the cell. Keep him on the chair. Marcus… administer the medication."

He leaned in so close to Joel's face that he could smell the unusual cleanliness of the Russian's breath.

"We'll talk again later, Joel."

Krass turned and left, striding out of the room swiftly, and as composed as he had been for the majority of the interrogation. Fitz wrestled Ellie into a cage behind him, which was merely more than an improvised storage cupboard sealed with iron bars. Marcus the sniper made his way over to Joel. A needle scratched into his arm, and he felt a liquid being inserted, seeping eerily into his bloodstream. Instantly, the world began to fade and collapse into darkness. Before he slipped into unconsciousness, he overheard two things.

"Fitz, man… you okay? You're not looking so hot."

"I… I'm fine, Marc! Just gotta get some… some rest. Let's go."

And lastly, quietly from behind him:

"You did the right thing, Joel."


	3. Chapter 3 - Skin of Their Teeth

The sound of a nearby explosion jolted Joel out of his drugged stupor. He was groggy, but alert. His head still throbbed, but he was alive, and so was Ellie.

"Holy fuck! Did you hear that?"

"Ellie! You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Face hurts, though. Can we kill that bastard Fitz please?"

"When we get loose, why the hell not? These chains won't budge, though."

"Shit… something big's been going down. An outbreak, I think."

That wasn't at all a good sign. If there was an outbreak in the interrogation rooms, Ellie was locked in a box and he was tied to a chair like a damn spit roast. They had to get out of this, and quickly.

A door swung open somewhere outside, and a guard shouted, only to be silenced by gunshots. Joel heard another man shouting shortly afterward, although he couldn't depict what he was saying. It sounded almost as if people in the other rooms were being let free.

"Do you hear that?" He asked, trying to turn his head far enough to see Ellie.

"The people, they're escaping. Someone's letting them out. They might come get us."

"No one's coming to get you, Joel."

He turned to see Krass, who'd been sitting on a desk the entire time, holding a shining machete in his right hand. He stood, and moved forward, revealing to Joel what'd happened to him while he'd been asleep. Krass was bleeding from a head wound, and had a tell-tale outline of teeth on his left arm from an infected bite. He was even paler than he had been when they'd first met.

"You caused this. You and your little bitch. She bit Fitz and he went fucking crazy and ate a whole bunch of people. By then it was too damn late. He got me."

Krass limped across the room, again pulled up the chair, and sat in front of Joel.

"Do you know what that means?" He asked with desperate sarcasm, "It means I'm going to fucking die. Krass Dubrovnik, beaten by some infected numbskull from America… but I don't have to die alone, oh no. I can take whoever I like with me."

"Krass, you don't have to do this."

"Oh, but I do. I don't know what the fuck is going on with the girl, and the fact that she's infected but doesn't show symptoms, or what, but I do know that she isn't any more resistant to a machete in the brain than you are."

The point of the metal lightly pressed into Joel's forehead, drawing blood out of his skin. The machete pulled back.

"You know what? A quick death is too good for you."

Joel gasped and Ellie screamed as the machete plunged into his stomach, once, and again. Dubrovnik was about to go for a third and final blow when the door burst open and an unidentified man tore him away from Joel. The machete went flying, and nearly hit Ellie in the cage. Krass was on the floor, grappling with the man lying on top of him, medical equipment and other objects being cast all over the room from their struggle. The man was in a much better state than Krass was, and he wasn't messing around. Krass foolishly let his defence slip, and the man stuck him in the face with huge force, once, and again, until the fight went out of his body. The man drew a gleaming 44. Magnum from his belt, and pointed the barrel in Krass' face.

"You." Krass managed.

The man responded.

"That's the last time you get the flank on me."

The gun fired, and it was all over.

Ellie watched through glassy eyes as the man climbed off the Russian's corpse and looked Joel over, kneeling in front of the chair. He was Caucasian, tall, and well-built, with a thick head of auburn hair and a ragged beard that'd obviously been developed in his captivity here. He sighed, ran his hand down Joel's face, and made for the door.

"Wait! Wait, please!"

The man turned, and stood stock still, looking in her direction. He walked swiftly over to the cage she was in, shot the lock off, and helped her out and onto her feet. Her entire body was aching, and she was scarred but what she'd just seen.

"Are you okay?" The man began, with an accent she'd never heard before. "God, how old are you? Fifteen? Were you with this guy?"

She looked over to Joel, still hanging limp in the chair, his blood pooling beneath him.

"Yes! Shit, we've gotta stop the bleeding! He's gotta get out of here, with us!"

"He's been badly injured; he's not going to-"

"Fuck you. He's going to make it! Now help me!"

The man was slightly taken aback by being talked to in such a way, she could see it in his expression, but he helped her either way. He checked Joel for a pulse, and then told her what needed to happen.

"Right, he's alive, just. I know someone who save him, but we've gotta him out of here as fast as possible. It's a damn long journey to where I live, but I managed to retrieve some of my stuff from when they captured me."

He drew a long, clear syringe from his backpack and showed it to her. It contained a small amount of viscous, orange liquid, which was completely unknown to her.

"What is it?"  
"Stimulants. Adrenaline. I broke my leg a few weeks back. It's mostly healed, but this was to allow me to run on it in case I got in any shit. It increases heart rate and dulls pain, so it might just keep him alive until we can get him sorted out. First, though, we need to stop the bleeding. Do you know how to tie a tourniquet?"

"No."

"Right. Get his shirt off, and we'll-"

A thought quickly sprung into her mind. If the journey was as long as he'd alluded to, Joel's wounds would worsen. She glanced at the machete lying on the floor, and it confirmed her suspicions. The handle, and the part of the blade not covered in thick red blood was caked in a thin layer of dirt.

"Wait! The machete was dirty as fuck. We've gotta clean the wounds first, right? Right?"

"Look, this whole place is going to shit, there's bandits and runners everywhere, we've gotta-"

"Help me clean his goddamn wounds!"

She made the effort to look him in the eye.

"Please."

He gave in.

"Alright, we can afford a few minutes. Look around for anything we can use to clean his wounds. Medical alcohol, whiskey-"

"I've had hours to look around this room. There's nothing here but old syringes and white vinegar."

"Vinegar? That'll do, but it'll hurt him if he's awake."

"As long as he's alive, I don't care how much it hurts."

The man nodded politely and hacked the rusted chains off the chair with the machete. Gently, he lay Joel's body down and removed the green shirt that was now plastered to his skin with blood.

"Holy shit, that's bad. I don't know about this. I could do one wound, but two?"

"He'll be alright, he's had worse. Help him!"

"Right."

Ellie handed the man the bottle of vinegar, and he poured some on his hands, and then gently applied it to the lacerations on Joel's stomach. He squirmed slightly, and moaned as the man rubbed the vinegar into the slices in his torso. Without speaking, the man deftly removed the rest of Joel's shirt, wrapped it tightly around his body, and neatly tied the sleeves together so the garment compressed the wounds. Lastly, he raised Joel's right arm, and gave him the full shot of the stimulant. Ellie was relieved, and surprised at the man's efficiency. She gently pressed her hands to the side of Joel's neck, and felt a pulse, faint but steady. It was enough to comfort her temporarily.

"That's pretty impressive. I haven't seen one done that quickly or that well before."

"Yeah, well - I have a damn good teacher."

"The one at your home?"

"Yeah."

She turned to look him in the eye, and extended her hand.

"I'm Ellie."

He returned her look, smiled warmly, and took the handshake. Her hands were dwarfed inside his, but he was surprisingly gentle.

"Adam. Now how about we get the hell out of here?"

He drew his Magnum by the barrel, and offered her the hilt. She took it carefully, in awe of the beauty and weight of the weapon in her hands.

"Now, be careful." He said, lifting Joel up and slinging him easily over his shoulders. "That's gonna kick a hell of a lot more than any nine-millimetre. I've also only got the five shots in the gun. Use them well."

They moved over to the door, and Adam gently eased it open and stuck his head out. One of the rooms was on fire, and dull gunshots could be heard alongside the screams of dying bandits and infected.

"Right." Adam said, rather too optimistically. "Let's go. There's a garage not too far from here that had a few good vehicles. Hopefully the bastards haven't taken them all."

They moved out into the corridor, with Adam taking point and Ellie following closely behind. She looked around warily, expecting to see the dead; but the only ones who didn't make it were ones wearing grey uniforms with a red circle emblazoned on their chest. They walked swiftly along the corridor for what seemed like an age, but every single door had been opened, and everyone had gone.

"Where are all the people they kept here? I don't buy it that they'd just let them go."

"No," Adam replied, "They didn't let them go. But when the guards are dead, they can't argue. I'm just glad everyone got a chance to escape."

"Who killed them all?" She asked, suspecting she already knew the answer.

He turned his head.

"I did. I wriggled out of my chains and sat in the room, waiting for the right time. There was some infected breach or something, and my guards left. Idiots. I got the drop on them and finished all their mates in the halls."

He was puffing slightly, and she could see the slight limp in his step where he'd injured his leg. He continued.

"Good riddance, I say. I've been tailing these red ringed bastards for months. I was just about to finish the job when they-"

There was a loud bang that suddenly emanated from down the hall behind them, and a bullet sped past Adam's head, missing by a fraction. Ellie pushed him hard, throwing him around the corner and into another corridor.

"Taking a detour, I guess." Adam said jokingly.

"It's that fucking sniper, the one who got me with a dart!"

"Him? Oh, that must be Marcus. No wonder he can't hit shit."

"What do we do?"

Adam thought for a moment, but Ellie answered her own question.

"He was behind the fire, right? Maybe he didn't see me. After all, the bullet was for you. If you distract him, I'll-"

"Are you sure you want to?"

"Yes."

"Alright. Two seconds."

Adam moved close to the edge of the corner that looked around into the previous corridor. He quickly stuck his head around, and saw Marcus crouching at the other end, back by where he'd killed Krass. There was another bang, and the bullet flew past Adam and struck a metal door at the bottom of the corridor.

Adam moved around the corner, and stood up tall, directly in front of the sniper.

"Marcus! I know you're still sore about me shooting you in the leg, but we can be… reasonable about this. Talk about it, like grown men."

"Fuck you, Watcher! You killed Krass! I'm gonna end you, you bastard!"

Marcus pulled the trigger, but the rifle only made a dull clicking noise.

"What's that, Marcus? Out of ammo? I told you, you should pace your shots."

Marcus drew his knife and came charging down the hall towards Adam. He didn't even get ten feet before Ellie rounded the corner and fired. The shot tore through his neck, and he flew backwards to land dead on the floor.

"Damn. Nice shooting, Tex."

"Thanks. Now, where were those cars?"

"This way."

They ran quickly through the main door and out into the courtyard, where chaos was still ravaging the compound. Almost the entirety of the facility was now on fire, and the infected were taking down the few bandits still trying to hold the fort, unknowing of their leader's death. They quickly ran through panicking hunters and infected, with Ellie taking down another red-ring soldier and two runners with the Magnum. They arrived next to Adam's pick of vehicle, a modified flatbed with a mounted LMG, and Adam carefully stowed Joel in the backseats of the truck and Ellie took shotgun next to him. The clutch was horrible and the engine was dodgy, but with a little persistence and cursing from Adam, the car revved into life, and they ploughed through the main gate of the compound and into the night.

Ellie placed the Magnum gently on the dashboard, then turned around to look at the inferno that was once Krass Dubrovnik's outpost of death. The surging flames that'd been so chaotic and angry up close were now beautiful, like a warm hearth or a gently glowing candle.

She glanced down to Joel, and saw to her relief that he was breathing steadily. She took comfort in watching the steady rise and fall of his chest.

"You handled yourself incredibly back there, Ellie. I didn't think you'd be so brave."

"It was Joel." She replied. "He taught me what it means to be brave."

"He seems like a good man. I'm glad we stopped to save him."

"Yeah, me too."

Adam picked the Magnum up off of the dashboard with his left hand, and popped open the chamber.

"One shot left. Nice. You didn't miss a single one."

She didn't reply, instead leaning against the door of the car, trying to calm her nerves. Adam spoke again, briefly.

"There's another car - that is, my car – around 7 hours north of here. We'll stop there, switch vehicles, and give him another adrenaline shot. He's going to make it, Ellie."

"I know, Adam. Thank you."


	4. Chapter 4 - The Road

She woke to the quiet humming of an engine and the autumn breeze cooling the side of her face. She stirred quietly, and yawned, gazing out of the open window to the beauty that somehow survived the storm that was the Cordyceps pandemic. She'd never truly had a chance to admire the elegance of nature; there was always a crisis or a disturbance that took priority.

The trees that couldn't survive the harshness of winter were slowly perishing, their leaves wilting and falling to the ground. Those who were resilient, however, flourished in the absence of their peers. Evergreens grew tall and majestic, not stopping for the weather or the seasons. They endured and survived, like her. It gave her hope.

Joel was an evergreen. Regardless of the beating he'd received – both physically, and worse – he stayed steadfast; always there to protect her and give her a helping hand. She hoped he'd survive, but part of her was utterly confident he would.

This new man, Adam, was something else. He was also strong, and kind and resilient, but not in the same way. Just by looking at his mannerisms and his behaviour, she could tell there was a hurt nestled deeply inside him. His overly optimistic and cocky attitude reminded her of herself; but she knew that it was just a façade, concealing something deeper within him. She thought that she would feel at unease around him, but for once, the only thing she felt was security. She and Joel hadn't seen any people in at least 8 months, and those they had met before were just like Dubrovnik and his hunters. It was reassuring to see a change.

_Desperation makes animals out of most men, _she remembered someone telling her. _Only the most vicious animals survive._

The face she saw in her memories she couldn't place, but it wore a warm smile.

_However, _the face continued, _all of the animals, no matter how strong, are weaker than the men that are left._

She thought about how long they'd been travelling. She glanced in the rear-view mirror to put her mind at ease and take solace in the steady rise and fall of Joel's chest. She wondered what awaited them at Adam's home.

"Good morning, sleepy." Adam said, glancing over to her and smiling. She saw for the first time in the daylight just how haggard his face was – sharp white cheekbones framed pained eyes that carried purple bags underneath. The hunters obviously hadn't treated him hospitably.

"We're almost to the halfway point." He said. "Soon we'll be able to lose this rust bucket and make better time."

He gestured to Joel, lying across the back seats.

"How's he doing?"

"He's fine." She replied, the relief evident in her voice. "He's doing fine."

"Good."

She wanted to ask the question that had been burning into the back of her mind, as intensely as the fire that was roaring when she heard the sniper yell. She wasn't sure how he'd take it, whether he'd answer her with anger, frustration; or just huff and puff and shrug the query off, like Joel used to. She asked anyway.

"Back there… when I killed Marcus? Before he charged, he said something about a 'Watcher'."

Adam sighed slightly, bracing for what was about to come. He wasn't too keen on discussing his past. Ellie, it seemed, was all too eager.

"I also heard it from Fitz, and that Russian bastard. What is it?"

Adam looked at himself in the rear-view mirror, remembering.

"Krass and his lackeys thought they'd hit the jackpot about ten days ago. Basically, he got the drop on a vigilante who'd been sabotaging his group's hunting efforts and killing their members in retaliation for slaughtering innocents. They captured him, and took him back to their base."

"So what?"

"So, what they didn't know was who the Watcher was. They'd only heard tales from rag-tag survivors of other hunter groups that some geared-up military sniper was murdering everyone and releasing their hostages. They said he was a vicious, psychopathic murderer who'd been killing their friends and comrades, and that he'd become so legendary that the people he rescued had taken to naming him and tagging areas around bandit camps. 'The Watcher sees all', and shit like that."

"He sounds hardcore."

"Their perception of him is as twisted as they were. The truth behind the Watcher is that he was once one of them. He had someone he cared about, and he took the steps needed to survive, regardless of how corrupt they may've been."

Adam cut off, still recalling the narrative he was telling Ellie. He lowered his voice, and quietly continued.

"Despite his efforts and his perseverance, he failed, and the person he cared about was killed by a man he though was his friend. It almost drove him mad. Since then, he dedicated his life to preventing hunters killing innocents. He'd gather intelligence, recon the groups, and eliminate them as he saw fit. He maintained a high integrity and personal strength, always keeping strong values, but… it was almost impossible for him to cope with the loss he'd suffered."

"What happened then?"

"He met someone new. Someone brilliant. Someone he saved that could pull him from his sadness, and spare everyone from Cordyceps. Unfortunately, he hasn't seen her for about two weeks."

That saddened her a little, but it was hardly surprising. People were always splitting up and getting lost in this new world, and not always voluntarily. It had happened with Tommy's; she didn't want to leave, but Joel insisted. She always followed Joel, no matter what. She kept pressing for information from Adam, intrigued by his knowledge of this man.

"Why not? Why's he been away for so long?"

"Like I said, Krass got him."

"Did he get out?"

Adam smiled dully, and looked at her.

"I don't know for certain, but last I heard, he escaped from an outpost with a little girl and a man in a stolen truck."

Realisation came to her and she scolded herself at how stupid she'd been. Everything Adam said about the Watcher was talking about himself.

"No way! You're… you're? Holy shit, I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"It's fine. My fault for not telling you."

Still, Ellie wanted to hear more.

"The person you lost…" She began, "What was their name?"

Adam didn't reply. He didn't even look at her; he just sat there in silence, keeping his glass-green eyes locked on the road.

"Not yet?" Ellie asked.

"No, not yet." He replied. "Maybe sometime, but not yet."

He pointed to a clearing in the pine forest just up ahead.

"We're almost there."

The car hummed and popped, and Adam gently swung it around a corner and began driving down a rough dirt track. They rode the track for what seemed like an age, and finally pulled up outside a dilapidated and moss-covered hunting lodge. Adam flicked off the engine, and without giving Ellie a second glance, moved across the courtyard through foot-high green grass and shrubs until he came to a halt by a tarpaulin. In a swift movement he threw the musty green canvas off of what it was concealing, revealing a gleaming jet-black coupe that'd been adjusted to have wire-protected windows and raised, off-road tires. Ellie got out of the car carefully, still aching from her ordeal, and stared in awe at the vehicle in front of her. It made the bandit's makeshift flatbed look like a drivable toaster.

"Whoa… that's your car?"

"Yep. She's my baby. This place is kinda like my field-base, I was stopped here before I went to interrupt Krass' operations."

"Did you build her?"

"No, just modified her. Rest assured, she'll get us home in one piece. Anyway, we'll bring Joel into the lodge. I'd rather patch him up in there."

"Are we gonna stay the night here?"

"We should keep moving. We don't know who followed us out."

They walked together through the meadow, pine trees soaring all around and birdsong being the only noise alongside the wind. She brushed her fingers lightly over the tops of the grass that sprouted out around them, and revelled in the feeling of cool morning dew on her fingers. For once, she felt free.

"This place is beautiful."

"Yeah," Adam replied admiringly, "it is. It's funny how if you come far enough north, you mostly get away from Cordyceps. No one was here when the shit hit the fan, and so this place has remained untouched. It's almost like nothing ever happened."

They arrived on the porch, and the dull creaking of old wood accompanied them as they walked inside. The room was cosy, and well fitted, with clean supplies and a tidy set-up. A musky and comforting smell of habitation filled it, but it was obvious that no-one had been here for a couple of weeks by the fine layer of dust lying on the objects around the house.

Adam moved Joel into the middle of the room and laid him gently onto the large mahogany dining table placed there.

"Right, let's have a look. There's a medical kit over there, grab the bandages and bring them here."

Ellie did as bid, and rifled through a nearby set of drawers until she eventually came upon a small, red satchel with a faded white cross emblazoned on the front. She gently opened the flap and withdrew a large spiel of bandages, and took them over to Adam. By the time she'd gotten over to him, he'd already removed the old tourniquet and was inspecting the two large lacerations in Joel's stomach. She looked too, and was pleasantly surprised by what she saw. Instead of pus-filled crevices, the cuts were two pinkish lines in his stomach. The bleeding had stopped a while ago.

"Looks like that vinegar did the trick. His wounds are clean. Good initiative." Adam said, genuinely impressed by the results of their efforts.

"I'll tie another tourniquet to prevent any further bleeding, but his wound won't heal properly until they're closed and dressed properly. I don't have the expertise or the ability to stitch them up."

"How far away is this home of yours?"

"From here? It's another eight hours north, there or there abouts. I don't know what'll be there, though; I've been gone longer than I should've been."

"How long did your friend expect you to be away?"

"Three days. I've been gone two weeks."

Adam finished wrapping the bandages tightly around Joel's torso and pinned them together tightly. He took a brown leather pouch out of his backpack and drew out another syringe filled with that same viscous orange liquid. He lifted Joel's arm, gently pushed the needle into his vein, and pressed the liquid into his bloodstream. He stirred slightly and groaned, but stayed asleep.

"There you go, he's coming back. He's not going to wake up any time soon, but at least his brain is functioning. I was worried that we'd taken too long."

"Same." Ellie replied.

Adam made for a stationary radio communicator nestled into the back of the farthest wall. He picked up the handset, and spoke clearly into it, broadcasting to some unknown location.

"This is Watcher, calling in. Anyone there?"

There was only static. He tried again.

"Repeat, this is Watcher. Evelynn?"

Only static responded to him.

He sighed and replaced the handset into its holster.

"Don't know why I thought that'd work." He admitted solemnly. "To say the radio communication around here is dodgy is a pretty major understatement."

He walked back across the room to Ellie, and scooped Joel off of the table and into his arms.

"Who's Evelynn?" She asked, reluctant to meet any more people.

"You'll see." He said, continuing towards the door. He stopped briefly and turned to her. "She's like you. I think you two'll get on well."

Ellie took his description as fact and her feeling of unease at meeting another new person was slight subsided. They re-entered the cool morning air, dampened by the mass of fauna surrounding them. Adam bolted and padlocked the door to the lodge, then moved over to his coupe. He quickly opened the door and stowed Joel on the backseats, lying him as straight as possible. The inside of Adam's car was incredibly clean, with a grey-ish leather upholstery that smelled almost new and looked even better. To her surprise, Adam didn't get in the car.

"What're you doing?" She asked, turning to watch him move back over to the bandit's truck. "Haven't we gotta move quickly?"

He grabbed the top of the mounted LMG and pulled.

"Yep," he said as he strained, "but the whole point of this place is it looks abandoned. We're gonna get rid of this car, then move on."

The turret finally gave in under his strength, and the LMG snapped free of its makeshift bipod.

"Plus, this is a nice fucking gun." He cut a smug grin.

The next hour consisted of the two pushing the bandit car into a nearby river and watching it become overwhelmed by the water. They sat on the riverbank, watching the current claim the car, and sat soaking in the beauty of the surrounding area as they filled each other in on how they got caught by Krass' red-ringed hunters.

"… So he rescued me from the Fireflies. He said there were lots like me, dozens actually, and that the Fireflies were only using them as lab rats… but, I don't know. Why would they go through all that effort just to fuck us over? Doesn't make a lot of sense to me."

"That's fair enough." Adam countered, "I've heard mixed things about the Fireflies. Haven't ventured far enough south to have a run-in with them, though."

He turned to face her, and looked in her eyes. In his, she thought she could now see a dull sense of hope after she told him what she was.

"So, you're immune?" He began. "Not like a carrier, but actually linked to the affliction?"

"Yeah. The bite I got healed super quick, and apparently it's in my brain or some shit, but it's co-existing, and safe."

"Interesting." He said thoughtfully, staring deeply into the rushing blue-green water of the river. "And then?"

"We stayed at Tommy's for a couple years, but Joel said we had to leave. I go where he goes."

Adam huffed, and continued.

"It's rare to find comradery like that nowadays."

He picked up a small, rounded grey pebble, and lazily flung it towards the water's edge. It struck the water at just the right angle and skipped a few times across the surface before plunging under halfway across.

"Yeah. Well, I owe him and he owes me."

"I get the feeling it's something more than that."

She contemplated momentarily.

"Yeah, I suppose it is."

The sun was almost high in the sky now – it was nearing midday. They'd only been gone for just over an hour, but she felt the need to return to Joel. Adam obviously did too, as he spoke up first.

"Right. Let's go back to the car. We can talk more as we walk."

The two stood and carefully scaled the riverbank, ascending back up into the pine forest. The smells of nature were all around – the wet of the trees, the dry of the sun, the musk of the dirt. Ellie let the scents fill her lungs and breathed deeply, wallowing in the contrast between this place and Krass'.

They wandered over fallen logs and fences, taking a shorter route back to the lodge.

"So, why were you out that day? Why were you after the red-rings?"

"I'd got a lead and had been following a recon group of five guys for a few days before hand. Marcus was one of them. Saw them capture a couple of survivors and kill them on shortly afterwards. Shot the bastard in the leg as a deterrent. The subtle irony of it was that they killed three people, but only took a penknife, a pistol and a watch. They didn't even bloody eat them, which is what I thought they were going to do. They just left the corpses there; a pointless waste of life. Anyway, I followed them for a few days, waiting to strike properly. That's when I found they'd set up a town as a lure for more survivors."

"Damn, with a general store in the high-street? That's where they got us."

"Their plan worked, then." He said with frustration, before continuing. "After I found their little ploy, I headed back home and got kitted up. Got back down there a few days later to find their operation in full swing. I killed four of them before Dubrovnik flanked me, but it seems they kept at it anyway. I even lost my bloody sniper rifle."

"Joel killed one of them, too."

"Good. They didn't deserve to live, hunting people for food… times may get hard, really hard, but you at least think people would have a little fucking integrity."

"I'm guessing you'd steer away from human burgers, then?"

"You know it."

They walked for about another five minutes under the canopy of the forest, watching the birds and listening in silence. Eventually, Adam piped up again.

"These red-ring bandits… they're not like the others, Ellie. They're an organised syndicate, being run by some commander who actually knows what he's doing. I assure you, Dubrovnik's base was only the tip of the iceberg. If we run into any more of them, don't engage them. Don't even talk to them. Just leave them be. If they do anything drastically out of line, that's when we step in."

"Gotcha. What if we don't have a choice?"

"I'm sure you know what to do if you don't have a-"

Adam froze, and stood completely still. Ellie, seeing his reaction, did the same.

"Get down." He whispered.

She did as she was told, and the two lowered themselves down into the carpet of leaves, shadowed by the side of the lodge. By the car, there were two people, peeking in at Joel. There was a third trying to get the door of the lodge open. She saw only one of them had a gun – one of the 9mm pistols the bandits carried – holstered in his belt.

"Ramone, come look at this!"

"Damn, that's a nice car. That thing's being cared for."

"Yeah, I know. There's a guy in the back, he's wounded and asleep by the looks of it. What do you want to do?"

"I know what I'm gonna do." Adam whispered to Ellie.

He silently got up, deftly for a man his size, and drew the machine gun from his back. He moved over to the wall of the lodge, and beckoned for her to come over. She moved with equal silence, and he once again handed her his 44. Magnum.

"We go round the back. I raise my gun, you don't. You don't touch that trigger unless I tell you. Clear?"

"Y-Yeah." She said, slightly taken unawares by the bluntness of his statement. It was almost like the caring, eloquent Adam was gone, and business Adam had taken his place.

The two skirted quickly around the exterior of the lodge, and moved around the corner. Adam raised the machine gun and moved into the open.

"Mike, c'mon. Stop trying to get into the lodge and help us-"

"Oh shit!"

"Everyone on your knees!" Adam commanded as he moved forward. "Now!"

The two by the car did as they were told, and the guy by the door raised his hands but stayed standing.

"Calm down, son. We're not looking for any trouble."

"I'm not planning on causing any." Adam said back, still raising his gun. "But we can never be too sure. You two by the car, stay there. You, by the lodge – Mike, is it? – on your knees. Ellie, get his gun."

She followed his orders an approached the man now kneeling on the porch of the lodge. She didn't make eye contact with him, but she could see the blatant surprise in his face from the fact a 16 year old girl was holding a gun to his head. She plucked the 9mm from his belt, tossed it at Adam's feet and then moved back over to him.

"You. Over here."

The man moved away from the lodge and kneeled next to his two friends. One was a woman, and looked to be around twenty, with blond hair and a large cut on her lip. The second was a man with dark skin, almost as big as Adam, but much younger. The third man, the one who was by the lodge, was haggard and old, and looked to be at least a decade Adam's elder. None of them wore a red circle.

"Why're you here? How'd you find this place?"

The old man spoke for the other two.

"Son, we just stumbled across this place. We've been wandering since someone let us out of the hunter base we were trapped in. the guards were all dead, and we slipped out past the infected."

"They're saying it was the Watcher who let us out!" The woman blurted.

Adam hesitated for a second, and then lowered his machine gun.

To Ellie's surprise, he didn't reveal that it was him who rescued them.

"Alright. You're not red-rings."

"No, damn right we're not!"

He offered the old man his hand.

"Are you hungry?"

"Yes, of course."

He whipped out a key, and placed it in the old guy's hand.

"Here's the key to the lodge. There's food in there; a couple of deer I got a few weeks back. They should be fine. If not, there's a river a couple of kilometres that way." He gestured into the forest, and then continued.

"Stay here as long as you want to. Just lock up when you leave."

He smiled kindly, but the old man just stood there, speechless. The dark-skinned man, Ramone, stood and put his hand on Adam's shoulder.

"Shit man, thank you so much! We've been walking for almost two days. Joan's doing okay, but I'm not so sure about the old guy. You cool with us staying here?"

"Yeah." Adam replied. "We were heading off anyway. We've gotta get the guy in the car some medical attention."

"Shit, yeah… he don't look so good. Anyway, thanks man. Ain't had anyone be this kind before. Be careful out there."

"You too."

Before he got in the car, he had a last-minute thought, and doubled back.

"Hey!"

Ramone turned around as well.

"Yeah?"

"There's a radio in there that has a direct line to my base. It can also be used on other frequencies. It's a little dodgy, but if you need anything, drop me a line."

Ramone nodded, and led the other two inside the lodge.

Adam got in the driver's seat and put the machine gun in the back with Joel. Ellie took shotgun again, and leaned back, in awe at the comfort of the leather seats. It was a massive step-up from the ridiculously thin foam-cushions on the seats of the bandit car.

He shut his door, and started the engine. The coupe easily reached ignition and purred quietly, not choking or spluttering like the bandit's shitty flatbed had. They pulled off, and drove up the dirt track in silence. After turning left back onto the highway, Ellie spoke up.

"Why did you give them your lodge? I thought you used it often."

"I do." Adam countered, "But they had an old man and a young woman. They needed it more than I do. So, they got it."

They sat in silence for a little while before Adam continued.

"It's… it's what I do. It just seemed right."

Ellie didn't respond, but admired him more for that.

"You might want to try and sleep again. There's a long journey ahead."

"Will do."

She would sleep later. For now, she was content to sit and watch Joel's steady breathing.


	5. Chapter 5 - Practical Joker

There were silhouettes following her.

She couldn't see them, but she knew they were there. Their presence bore into her conscience, and she only received messages of hostility.

The footsteps they made grew closer, then faded again, warping any sense of distance she tried to calculate. She sometimes thought she had outrun it, only to be shocked all over again when they appeared right behind her. They grew and raged, shrunk and whimpered, and continued to press after her. They yelled and hollered behind her.

Then she managed to deduct some of the things they were saying.

She couldn't place the words at first; they were almost non-existent, yet so real at the same time. Her brain soaked them in, but struggle to process them and put meaning behind them. She concentrated on what she was hearing, and the shouts became clearer.

_"... They're headed to pediatrics, after them!"_

_"There, I see them!"_

_"Go, get the flank!"_

_"Get back!" _A voice closer to her responded in desperation.

_"There's nowhere to run!"_

_"He's in my sights!"_

_"I SAID GET BACK!"_

A succession of loud bangs cut through the air, and a volley of bullets flew towards her face.

She woke with a sharp jolt, and hit the side of her head against the window of the car.

"Aw, motherfucker!"

Looking in the window, she saw she was in a horrible state aesthetically. With her unkempt red mop of hair, a dirt-clad face, arms caked in burgundy blood, and the burns on her face and arms from the fire in the compound, she looked like a dirty vagabond. Or a hobo. She sighed in frustration, and sat up properly in the seat.

"Bad dream?" Adam asked, flicking his goggles up to look at her. It was almost as if he had read her mind. She saw that the area around his eyes was discoloured, and as such was a dark purple – he obviously hadn't slept since they departed from the hunting lodge.

"I just… slept heavy." She replied, holding her arms together. She was covered in a thin film of ice-cold sweat.

"Have you slept?" She asked.

"Nope." Came her reply.

"Goddamn. How long have we been driving?"

"About 8 hours, on top of the 7 it took us to get to the lodge. Doesn't matter anyway, we're almost there. I've missed this place."

She gazed out the window, but there wasn't much new to see. The scenery was similar to how it was at the lodge; pines grew tall, dominating the tops of the forest. Darkness had overwhelmed the plantations, and she calculated it was very early in the morning. Adam was driving with the lights off, and this allowed her surprisingly good vision. She looked over the fields of pines, and occasionally they relented to reveal a ruined farmhouse or ranch.

She looked up, and was amazed by what she saw. The night sky blazed, with thousands upon thousands of little white and yellow beads shining brightly. They almost hurt her eyes when she looked straight at them. Despite the light provided by the stars, the moon was nowhere to be seen, and was masquerading behind the soaring evergreens.

Adam had flicked his goggles down again, and he looked hilariously comical. She couldn't get past the humour of the gigantic black binoculars strapped to his head by a minimalist piece of fabric. She chuckled slightly, and eventually burst out laughing, unable to contain herself. He looked like a super villain from one of the comics she'd read.

He grinned, and then responded.

"What's so funny that it's got you in stitches?"

She tried to tell him between guffaws.

"I'm sorry, it's just – oh my god. You look like a friggin' evil genius. All of them had goofy goggles. What even are those?"

He responded with a gentle chuckle, obviously happy to have someone to take him away from the boredom of having to stay awake alone. Joel wasn't exactly talkative at the moment.

"If you must know, they're Infared goggles, so I can see to drive without lighting the car up and letting anyone know we're here. Plus, they look awesome. I just need the vampire cape, and we're all set!"

"You gonna play the piano all dramatically, too?" She said between chuckles, though a wide grin.

"You know it. Might even invest in a midget that looks just like me."

She laughed out loud at that one, and the two sat there giggling for a while. She leaned back into the leather set, enjoying a comfort that was rare in this new world.

She hadn't known what to think of Adam, but his first impression was a good one. No one had a sense of humour anymore, and her wise-cracks and puns went amiss on everyone she came across. She had a feeling he would appreciate them, and even counter them. He was almost like a big brother – funny and caring, but with the capacity to be strong and selfless.

She knew that even though she met someone decent, she couldn't get too attached.

_We're the only two that matter._ Joel had told her once. _Anyone wants to come with us, fine. But if it all goes south, we stay together, and move on. No matter what._

She knew nothing about Evelynn, but she hoped deep down that Joel wouldn't take that attitude towards Adam.

She took to scanning the terrain again, trying to ignore the cramping in her legs and back from the journey. The highway they'd followed had changed from durable, four-lane asphalt to a single-lane tarmac road that was in a much worse state. Still, with Adam's adjustments to the coupe, the journey wasn't an uncomfortable one, just a little jumpy. The car was almost silent as it rolled over potholes with ease.

She yawned, and he followed suit.

"Now you've got me doing it." He said lightly.

"Not surprising, given how long we've been driving. Are we almost there?"

Adam moved over to her slightly, and pointed at a hill to her left.

"There it is."

She was befuddled.

"Wha-what? There's nothing there."

"Exactly." He chuckled, satisfied that the camouflage he set up had served its purpose. "Don't worry, it's there."

She was curious as to where on earth they were headed, up here in the mountains.

"What are you holed up in out here?"

Adam laughed a little. "Funny you word it like that, actually. Evelynn and I found an abandoned mining facility up here. It was small-time, but it was more than large enough for two people. The place had basic facilities like bunkrooms and kitchens, but on further inspection, we found it had a small hydroelectric system hooked up to an underground stream. It has three turbines, but they're loud as all hell, so we run one for 24 hours every week or so, and it gives us more than enough power."

She hadn't seen working electricity in what seemed like a lifetime.

"Wow, seriously?"  
"Yeah. They were pretty dilapidated when I found them, but I fixed the one we use. The place had been abandoned a few years before the shit all went down, so there're no infected there. Never have been."

"Huh."

The car purred and revved slightly as they exited the B-road and made onto a small concrete roadway that approached and ascended the hill Adam had pointed out to her. Gradually, the grass and roots of trees had grown under and penetrated the concrete, splitting it into ragged chunks that were now being covered in a thick and vivid green moss. Vines and crawling fauna hung off a rusted chain-link fence that had once been the boundary to the site. The gate was long gone.

From afar, the entryway was completely camouflaged, just another blue-black hill jutting from the ground, with everything bar the entryway of the road being obscured by pines. The trees looked young - they were tall, but dwarfed by their peers in the thicker forest. It was obvious to her now that they had been planted at a later date. They couldn't be more than a decade old, compared to the others, which were at least 20 years their elder.

The roadway continued for around five minutes, until they plateaued out around halfway up the hill. She could see now that there had originally been a large set-up of buildings here – all of which had been carefully disassembled, and only their grey-green concrete foundations remained, large chunks of artificial creation in a midst of natural beauty.

Adam pulled the car to a halt, and removed his goggles. Upon grabbing a flashlight from the glove box, he exited the car and walked towards a cliff that erupted out of the plateau and continued up about another ten meters. The beam of the flashlight cut through the darkness of the night, illuminating the wall. She saw him approach the cliff face, and realised that there was a camouflaged net that covered a small cave. The cave in question was dwarfed by its neighbour – a large, manmade concrete opening led into a black abyss.

Adam put the flashlight between his teeth, and pulled the net up, placing it over a metal bar that he'd installed just above the mouth. He illuminated himself, then turned to the car beckoned Ellie forward.

She was unsure what he was getting at, until he gestured in a way similar to using a steering wheel.

"Wha – You want me to drive this thing?" She shouted out the window.

She saw him nod.

"Alright…" She said, shuffling into the driver's seat, trying to make the best of the situation. "Thank-you for flying Air Ellie, we hope you have a safe trip… and that your pilot can actually fucking drive this thing."

Despite the quiet and well-maintained noise the engine made, the thought of driving the beast that Adam had had speeding at nearly 120 miles per hour for most of the way here made her a little apprehensive. She had popped a clutch a few times, and driven a pickup for a while, but her experience wasn't exactly in-depth.

She huffed in annoyance at how she couldn't reach the pedals, and searched for a lever. She found it, and heaved the chair forward quite a way.

"Regrettably, your captain is short as hell." She said to herself, trying to abate her apprehension with humour.

She gently pressed the accelerator. Adam had left it in first, thank god. The car edged forward, and she gently steered it into the cave, stopping when Adam tapped the side of the car. She got out to find him opening the door and picking Joel over his shoulder.

"He okay?" She asked, not having checked up on him in a while.

"Yeah." Adam replied, happier than she thought he'd be, having suffered from aggressive interrogation and sleep deprivation. "He's in damn good hands now. C'mon, it's this way. Grab the flashlight."

She hesitated slightly as he moved towards the black hole in the cliff face.

"What? You mean in there?"

"Yeah!" He extended a hand to her. "Don't worry, it's perfectly safe."

She hesitated again for a moment, but took his hand. They walked into the abyss, and she clicked on the flashlight. The cave was a lot colder than the outside, and the outside wasn't exactly a tropical paradise. She shivered and wrapped her jacket more tightly around herself as she walked forward. Stalagmites were abundant, and water was dripping from the ceiling, giving an eerie feeling to the place. There was a crisply cut concrete path that stood out from the raggedness of the rock, and they descended together, with Ellie taking point.

"Right, just down here. There should be a room that's half fallen away."

They walked for about five minutes, going down. Sure enough, they found the room in the lower part of the cave. Adam said that it used to be a gateway, or a checkpoint, used to scan miners for chemicals and other toxins after they came up from. Almost half of the room had collapsed in under damp-rot, but the rubble had been moved into hole where the cave dramatically veered to the left.

"Hey," she asked, aiming the flashlight down the cave to the left, and noticing it had been bricked up by cinder blocks. "What's down there?"

"No clue." Adam's voice replied quietly, just next to her. "That was walled up when we got here. Haven't had the need to go down there."

"Do you ever want to?"

His voice grew quieter as he walked away from where she was standing, back into room.

"Nope. We've never seen any infected here, but I have no idea how deep that tunnel goes, nor if there's anyone in there."

She heard him gently place Joel down on the floor.

"Come over here and help me with this, please."

She walked over to him. Standing next to him, and slightly taller than he was, were two sturdy metal cabinets placed next to each other. When illuminated, it was obvious they were covering a large, wheel-clamped door, but in the darkness, it would go unnoticed.

They heaved one cabinet out of the way, then the second. The door that was pressed into the wall was like something out of a sci-fi - it looked like an airlock, or a door on a submarine. When she asked Adam, he said that that was basically it. If there was a gas leak or chemical explosion in the lower reaches of the mine, they could seal the lock and stay in the bunkrooms until the air had cleared, or until rescue arrived.

Adam opened the first door with ease, despite it being very stiff. It swung inwards, and he gently picked Joel off the floor and placed in inside the small room. A second door was placed in the back wall of the tiny room, identical to the first.

Ellie stepped inside, and Adam pulled both the cabinets back in front of the door, stepped inside himself, and sealed the door behind him. He picked Joel up deftly, and held him in his arms. It looked unusual to Ellie to see her father-figure in such a vulnerable state.

"Right, you'll have to get that one. Sorry."

"It's fine." She said, gripping the wheel that jutted from the front of the door.

"Lefty loosey, righty tighty." Adam said humorously, almost chastising her.

She chose not to respond, and turned as hard as she could. She strained, and made no progress. She tried a second time with similar results. On the third attempt, the wheel budged, and there was a loud clang as the bolt in the door shifted. She pushed gently, and it swag open, revealing the atrium in front of her.

There was a large, roomy cave, with a path veering off to the left that led to another door like the ones they just emerged from. The floor would originally have been all concrete slabs, but some had been removed in order to reveal a stream that flowed calmly through the middle of the ground, in from one wall and out the other. The whole place was lit by industrial lights that gleamed from their bulbs, forcing her to cover her eyes as she adapted to the brightness. Before her, there was a small, improvised metal bridge over the stream that allowed entry to the bunkrooms. Like the previous room, a lot of the complex had been removed, and the front rooms lay exposed.

Adam came through the door, and shut it lazily with his foot.

"Lights are on." He said optimistically. "Let's hope someone's home."

He took point, and trudged forward with his worn hiking boots reverberating off the stone floor. She could see a slight arch in his back where he was fatigued. Despite his height and build, holding Joel for such a long time had taken its toll.

"Evie?" He said as he walked over the bridge, into the first of the half-deconstructed concrete rooms. "Evie?" He said again, raising his voice.

In one of the rooms further back, something clattered to the floor.

He gently nudged open the door into another room, and quietly inquired again.

"Evie?"

He stepped backwards a few paces. The door opened fully, and a tall, slender woman with long black hair emerged. She was dressed plainly, in olive-green khakis and a white singlet. On her left arm, she wore a mass of colourful and beautiful tattoos. She slowly walked up to him, and placed her hand on his face.

"Adam." She said, tearing up. "I… It's been over two weeks. I thought you'd…"

"I know." He replied. "I almost thought that too."

It was then she noticed the wounded man he was carrying.

"See you've made a couple of new friends, Mr Watcher." She slowly took her hand off his face, and turned to face Ellie.

"Hi there." She said, surprisingly casually. Her accent was from the same area as Joel's. "I'm Evelynn. Don't worry; we can get your buddy fixed up."

"Ellie."

"You did well to get back here in one piece, Ellie. I trust Adam wasn't too much trouble." She smiled warmly at Ellie, then turned back to Adam and lowered her voice. "It's been chaos since you've been gone. I had a scare the other day. There were some people walking through the forest on the hill to the north, right by us. The fucking generator was on at the time. I sat in the base for 3 days, just holding your shotgun. Now, some guy has been radioing, asking for you. I haven't replied."

She leant forward, and hugged him tightly over Joel.

"Fuck, I've missed you so much."

He chuckled thankfully, revelling in the warmth of the embrace he'd missed for just over a fortnight.

"I've missed you too. But we've got all night to talk. This guy doesn't have that luxury."

Evelynn drew back, surprised that she'd let her girlish side overwhelm that of her professionalism.

"Oh, right. What's his name?"

"Joel." Ellie blurted, more desperately than she'd intended.

"Well, Joel's going to be just fine. Adam, bring him through, please."

"Right. Ellie, you should go and rest. My room is just through-"

"No!" She said, the desperation appearing in her voice again. She lowered her tone, and quietly said:

"I go where he goes."

Adam stood there, contemplating. Evelynn chuckled, and shoved him lightly on the shoulder.

"Let the girl watch, Adam. It's not like it's a vasectomy."

"Evelynn-"

"What's a vasectomy?" Ellie asked, baffled.

"Relax, girls." Evelynn countered jokingly, laughing. "I'm just fucking with you. C'mon."

They walked through one door, then another. The room they entered next was a full medical set-up, with life-support, a proper bed, and a huge array of medical equipment that wowed Ellie the moment she walked in. Even Adam looked surprised.

"You've been cleaning." He said.

"Yeah." She countered, gathering syringes. She stuck one in the top of a bottle and drew out some of the translucent liquid as Adam gently laid Joel on the table. Evelynn put on a medical mask, and sat down next to the table. "Well, when your boyfriend's gone missing, you need something to calm your nerves."

Before she could start, Ellie interrupted.

"How'd you manage to get all this stuff up here?"

Evelynn turned to faced her, and answered with an anecdotal response.

"A lot of time, and a lot of gas."

The response didn't set her at ease in the slightest; she cared deeply for Joel's safety, as much as he cared for hers.

"Are you sure she knows what she's doing?" She said, not really directing the question at either of them, but more thinking out loud.

"Of course." Adam said, taken aback a little by the bluntness of Ellie's query.

Evelynn turned, and looked at her. She responded, with more seriousness this time around.

"I may be a practical joker when I want to be, but I went to university. I know what I'm doing."

"Evie is phD in Biochemistry and Human Biology. She studied for eight years, and spent two in the Marines as a Medicinal Officer."

Ellie wasn't convinced, and Evelynn could tell.

"Do you want to come and sit by him? You can help, if you like."

After a moment of hesitation, she gave her reply.

"Okay."

She moved cautiously over the concrete floor, pulled over a small metal chair, and sat down next to the bed. Joel was still asleep, and he looked more peaceful than she'd ever seen him. The creases in his forehead and between his eyebrows were ironed out, and he looked calm for once in his life.

Evelynn handed her a medical mask, and she slid it over her hair and down to cover her mouth.

Adam walked up beside Evelynn.

"Have fun, Dr. Stroud. I'm gonna go get cleaned up."

"Alright." She said, and lifted her mask to kiss him. "Don't you go running off again."

"Yes ma'am." He said politely, and took his leave from the room.

Evelynn put on a pair of thin, plastic gloves, and began to unwind Joel's tourniquet to begin her examination.

"Huh, that's lucky. I didn't expect the wounds to be so… clean."

"We doused them in vinegar." Ellie retorted. "Before we left, I mean."

Evelynn had removed Joel's damp tourniquet, revealing the two three-inch long pink crevices in his stomach. She had already sterilised and prepped all of the equipment she was going to use. If Ellie hadn't been convinced by Adam reinforcing Evelynn's qualifications, she was now swayed by the sudden change of personality she'd displayed. The Joker had taken a back seat, and the Doctor now held the reigns. Ellie had never seen a professional surgeon in action; they'd put her to sleep when she was with the Fireflies. She was thoroughly inspired, and she said as much to Evelynn.

"I don't know about professional surgeon." She replied idly as she concentrated on threading a tiny thickness of black wire through the top of a pristine silver needle. "More like science major playing around with syringes and seeing what happens. But, thanks. It does mean a lot." She placed the threaded needle gently on the silvery metal tray that she'd positioned on a small table to her left.

She leaned over his body, and gestured towards the wounds.

"I ran a quick assessment based on cross-references." She said quickly, coming across as a typical science-type. She angled her head up to face Ellie, and looked into her eyes inquisitively. Evelynn had beautiful blue eyes – the colour of the midday sky, or a tropical ocean, glassy and bright.

"And I deducted that the wounds – looking like they were made with a hunting machete – steered conveniently clear of his intestines, with one grazing a kidney, and the other penetrating his appendix."

She sat back in the chair, and slid her mask down onto her throat to talk.

"This scar here though – from another laceration, I assume? – how did he respond to that?"

Ellie cautiously replied, trying her hardest to avoid mentioning her scare with the cannibals, and her horrific encounter with David.

"He… he fell. He fell onto something, I never saw what."

"I meant, how well did he carry the wound, and how did you treat it? I take it you were with him at the time."

"Yeah, the whole damn time. He tried to pretend it wasn't there, to walk it off and be tough like he always does. As for treating it? Well… I dunno. I just rammed him full of antibiotics, and luckily he woke up just in time to get me away from-"

She remembered.

_You can try beggin'._

"…to get me out of some… trouble, I was in."

She wasn't ready to reveal that story to Evelynn, or Adam; no more than he was willing to discuss his loss.

"Well, whoever stabbed him wasn't very strong." Evelynn stated, forever the optimist. "A machete like that should've gone straight through him."

"You're saying that he was lucky?"

"I'm saying that he was incredibly lucky." She stood and walked over to a nearby counter, almost as clean as her metal tray of implements had been, glittering in the high-powered lights of the room, and gathered more equipment.

"Anyone can survive on one kidney, and the appendix became useless ages ago. There is deep tissue damage to his abdominals, but nothing that can't be remedied and worked around." She fiddled and faffed with implements, organising various items and bottles onto another gleaming metal tray. "That being said, he won't be doing sit-ups any time soon."

She giggled slightly to herself, and wandered lazily back over to the operating table, moving the first tray to the side and replacing it with the one she had organised a moment ago. She placed a couple of plastic and paper patches connected to multi-coloured wires to Joel's forehead, heart, and left wrist. Following this, she flicked a small black button with the heel of her boot, and the machine behind her came online, next to where Joel lay. The lights on the ceiling flickered a little, and then levelled out, adapting to the change in distribution of electricity. The machine beeped softly every few seconds.

"Hear that?" She asked Ellie, a wide smile on her face. "That's him. He's alive."

Ellie returned the smile, relieved that she could finally feel certain that he would pull through this calamity. She placed her hand gently on his forehead, and whispered gently to him.

"C'mon, big guy. You've had worse." Then she added, "I miss you, Joel."

Evelynn still wore the genuine smile she donned a few moments before. She gently took hold of Ellie's wrist, and moved her hand from Joel's forehead and back into her lap.

"I know you miss him, Ellie. He'll be okay, though, don't worry." She paused slightly, and then continued. "You might not want to be here for this next bit, though." She drew her mask back up over her mouth and picked up a long, silvery-white and razor sharp scalpel from her tray.

"Wha… why not? What're you doing?"

"The kidney should heal, but his appendix has to come out. If I don't remove it now, it'll get all infected and become a severe problem later. And later might not be in a room with a full laboratory set-up."

Surprisingly, Ellie felt the need to adhere to Evelynn's advice. It was a peculiar sensation, as she was more than conditioned to be comfortable around dealing with blood and gore – one had to be, surviving in this world, where every day was just another chance to be eaten, or shot. She didn't know why she was so repulsed at the thought of seeing Joel being operated on, but it just frightened her, in a deep and almost primal way.

Evelynn was awaiting her answer, with a scalpel in her right hand and a syringe full of liquid in her left.

"Adam's room is through the door there, and through the next room, if you want to go talk to him. I might be a while; I need to do this carefully." She gestured out through the metal door they entered from, to another one, in the adjacent wall.

"Okay." She said, getting up from her seat and walking slowly towards the door. She turned back and left Evelynn with a final spoken thought.

"Please do everything you can for him."

"Of course." Evelynn smiled warmly. "Of course, I will."

Ellie turned away and walked out the door, mulling over what she had just seen with apprehension.

Around the iris of Evelynn's bright blue eyes were tiny streaks of yellow-green, almost entirely unobservable by anyone who wasn't looking for them. She'd thought she'd seen the same with Adam, but his eyes were green, so she'd need to get a closer look. That tell-tale callsign had been burned onto her subconscious at a young age, always being a thing she prioritised when meeting new people.

Dilated and yellowed pupils were a characteristic trait of subjects infected with Cordyceps.


	6. Chapter 6 - Confrontation

The thin, cold metal door swung open to reveal an expanse in front of her; a busy and largely cluttered space, surrounded by walls that were thick with maps and pictures. Some of the pictures were drawn on; others had knives or darts wedged in them. There was a good wall, and a bad wall, she deducted.

On the good wall, there were pictures of people smiling, and embracing, and even some pictures from the time before Cordyceps. She stood in front of the wall, taking in the sights of life and happiness that were immortalised on small-ish pieces of paper. There was a man driving a truck on a huge road packed with vehicles, five men standing together, all dressed in military uniform, and many more. On the image of the military men, the right-hand edge was torn off, leaving the sixth man unidentifiable. One image caught her eye, and for a second she thought it was a picture of Adam, until she leaned in for a closer inspection. When it was seen up close, there were small differences between Adam and the beautiful woman in the picture. They both shared glass-green eyes and auburn hair, but hers was considerably longer, falling in copper waves behind her head. Her jaw was a lot less chiseled and her chin more pointed, and she grinned warmly at Ellie from the wall. The image was almost as old as the one with the men in uniform, one of which she identified as Adam. The other faces meant nothing to her.

The bad wall wasn't as pleasant. There weren't only pictures of faces, but of places as well – photographs of buildings and segments of maps. The images on this wall were linked by pieces of string, all in separate trees from each other, but sharing a common theme. These were the men that Adam hunted, in order to save the people they'd captured. She worked out his system of identification drawn on the pictures fairly quickly; a blue cross was an unknown death, a black cross was the target being taken out by infected or survivors and a red cross was a hit he'd made himself.

Blue crosses were fairly common, black sparse, and red crosses dominated the wall. Adam didn't mess around when it came to business – that much was obvious to her. She scanned a few of the trees, most of which she had no connection to, and saw red crosses drawn over the photographs of the people at the top, who she assumed must've been leaders before they were killed. She was surprised by how efficient he was – he'd killed almost one hundred of the people on the wall himself. She flinched when she saw he'd even been tracking David and his group – a photograph of his face was drawn over by a black cross. The sight of him sent a shiver through her, and she quickly moved on to the largest tree on the wall.

At the bottom were five men – Marcus, Fitz, and three others she didn't recognise. Linked to them by red string was a photograph of a tall apartment building, outfitted with a sniper roost on the rooftop. All five men had crosses, three with red, Fitz and Marcus with black. The roost was also crossed out with red, the word 'destroyed' written beneath it in block capitals.

The next tier up showed a dozen men in a variety of poses, none of which she knew. All of them were crossed out with red, bar one who had been classed as unknown. The ink was still fresh, and the smell of it was unusual to her as it seeped into her sinuses. Adam had only recently updated his tracking system.

There was a third tier, with a picture of the outpost that they'd been captured and taken to against their will. The word 'burned' was written beneath the red cross obscuring the picture, again in capitals. Above that, there was a single image.

It made her squirm. Krass Dubrovnik's ridiculously straight and sinister white smile stretched across his gaunt face, with his cold eyes burrowing into her through the red X that was scored across his portrait. The words "Lieutenant Bastard" were written on the wall next to his picture. Ellie giggled slightly, and continued to examine the tree.

Above that was a large, blank space, presumably where Adam was still meant to find leads on the red-rings. At the top of the wall, almost by the ceiling, was the missing part of the military men image. It showed a tall man with muddy-brown hair and facial scarring, attempting to smile at the camera. Next to his image, Adam had copied the bandit's red-ring crest onto the wall. Next to that, he had just written "HIM."

She squinted up at the top image, trying to depict more features of the man. After a small while of fruitless attempts, she turned her gaze back to exploring the room, and saw a large cabinet of high-end weaponry that she was surprised she'd managed to overlook. She walked over slowly, and inspected the stock that was hanging silently on the rack. There must've been nearly 20 weapons, with 2 crates filled with ammunition lying on the floor next to them. Some of the shapes were similar to her – she saw Adam's gleaming 44. Magnum, still shining as brightly as it had in her hand, despite it kicking worse than a pissed-off horse. Next to that was the light machine gun he'd stolen from the back of the bandit's flatbed. It'd been given a good and thorough clean, and was dully reflecting light off its matte-black surface. She saw the words 'M240B' written carefully on the side of the gun in white paint.

There were SMGs and pistols galore, and the biggest sniper rifle she'd ever seen. It was nearly a meter in length, with a huge scope that was almost as long as the Magnum. She placed her hand on the green-and-orange patterned metal, and ran her fingers up the smooth, cold surface.

"SRR-61 Anti-Materiel rifle." A voice said from behind her. She turned to see Adam, leaning against the doorway to the room. He had shaved, revealing his rugged jawline, and he was still damp from cleaning himself. He wore a simple black vest with desert khakis, revealing his toned and large arms, one of which he had a large white bandage wrapped around. He looked like he'd just exercised, and his muscles were puffed up and tense, all the way down to his hands where he was carrying a trencher of piping-hot meat covered in some kind of sauce.

"Sorry," He said courteously, walking into the room. "I felt I needed to do some work lifting weights. I didn't exactly have a chance to recently."

Ellie hadn't heard of that technique of exercise before, but Adam was blatant proof that it worked. She'd never seen anyone so toned; she assumed he'd been that way for a long time, since his days in the military.

"Lifting weights? What'd that accomplish, apart from being a pain in the ass afterwards?"

"More like pain in the arms, but I understand what you're saying. You start on a lower weight, and slowly scale it upwards as you proceed." He gestured to the two large, cast-iron dumbbells that sat silently next to the gun rack.

"Shit, they look heavy."

"20 kgs per dumbbell."

"Shit, they are heavy."

He chuckled gently, and moved over to her, extending the plate of piping hot meat. "For you." He said, and gestured it toward her.

At her hesitation to take it, he elaborated.

"Don't worry, it's venison. Evie caught a deer a few days back."

At the sound of Evelynn's name she flinched slightly, remembering the pale green and yellow flecks around her irises.

_ You're infected too, genius._ She thought.

The venison didn't stand a chance, and she began demolishing the plate of food. She was sullenly surprised by how hungry she was – how long it had it been since she'd eaten? Six days, a week? The meat was rich, and unbelievably fresh, and she rolled it around her mouth, reveling in the warmth and the earthen flavours and aromas it gave off. It'd been a long time since she'd had anything except canned tuna and stale bread. Through her appetite, she had forgotten to offer Adam any.

"Oh shit, do you want some?" She said with guilty humour, her mouth half full.

"No thanks, I've already eaten." He replied, moving over to the gun rack and picking up the colossal sniper. He held it in his muscular arms with ease, and looked down the scope in the position of a marksman. "I tend to eat a lot more than you do." He added with a smile. He gently lowered the gun, held it in his hands for a while, and placed it back in the rack.

"I lost my good sniper to Dubrovnik and his apes. It was the first one I'd made."

"You made one?"

"Yeah. I dropped out of school and enlisted in the Military when I was seventeen. I was a damn good shot with that sniper rifle – and still would be, if I hadn't made a mistake that day. The Military saw my aptitude and uplifted me to the SAS, where I found out how good I was at making and fixing shit. Eventually, they settled me into Gunsmithing." He gently moved over and plucked the image of the military men off of the wall, then moved back over and crouched down next to her, to be at her height.

"These men were the ones in my squad." He said, pointing to each member individually. "There's me, scrawny little whelp that I was. I had three years of experience when everything went south."

"What happened with your squad? Are they still out there?"

Adam paused momentarily, and continued.

"I don't know about Joel, but you definitely seem like a decent person."

He placed the image down, and began unwinding the bandage around his right bicep.

"I think I can probably tell you that story."

When he'd finished unwinding and removing the bandage, she was surprised to see that he also had a tattoo. Where Evelynn's was colourful and bright, a collage of miscellaneous images and symbols, Adam's was dark, and dutiful. Near the bottom of his shoulder, a title was written in a language completely foreign to her. It read, '_Memento, populum qui fecit vos', _and was scribed in an exquisite and complex font, framed in a banner. Beneath it, in a much simpler and more respect-demanding font, were names, winding around the top of his arm. Everything was in a pure and deep black, contrasting against the light hue of his flesh.

"Those names." She asked, cautious of what this implied about him. "Are they people you've killed?"

"No." He replied casually. "I'm not that cliché. They're people I've lost."

She was pleasantly surprised by the depth behind his explanation, and how it countered what she'd immediately concluded.

"People you've lost?"

"Yeah. All of them due to some fault by me. I was too slow, I made a wrong choice… or I ran, and left them to die. I keep them there, so I never forget what happened, nor make the same mistakes twice. Go ahead, have a read."

She perused the list, and observed all of the names.

MICHAEL J. RISSINGER - FRAGGER - DEXTER C. CURTISS - AMY GRATHIS - RED - DANIEL MILLER - LUI FENG - JAMES SLADEN - ANDREW GLASSMAN - MILA KEYES - LANCE CORPORAL JONOTHAN RHODES - FRAGGER - CARMEN STRAUSSON - ISIAH - VASILLI IGOREVICH - JOSH JAUREZ - SKYE - WELSH

There was a small, rectangular scar in his skin where he'd removed one of the names. They continued afterward.

JOANNA S. CASSEL - EARL ANTHONY WILLIAMS - PETE ERRICS - DEADEYE - BLUFOR

"Red was the first to die. He fell afoul of runners because I didn't time my sniper shots efficiently. Skye and Welsh were killed. Blufor suffered the same fate, but eight years later."

"I'm guessing their killer was the man you tore off the picture?"

He huffed, and continued. "I see you had time to look around. Yeah, that was him… Andrey Pyotr. The only foreigner in our squadron. I thought he'd been killed, but I was wrong… anway, I haven't seen him since Blufor. Good riddance, the bastard."

He paused slightly, and looked over to the far wall, the one she'd looked at first when she entered.

"He's another Russian, but compared to Dubrovnik… Krass was cunning; a sly killer, manipulating people, but Pyotr… he's just a fucking animal. When you put a lunatic and an incredibly skilled commander in the same skull, it creates an abomination. He also… that woman, the one with auburn hair?" He gestured across the room to the image that had caught Ellie's eye. It was unsurprising to her that they were related. Suddenly, the story of the Watcher was falling into place. "That's Joanna. She… she was my sister. I tried to save her, and - and… I-"

She saw his pale, glassy green eyes gloss over in a layer of water.

"He got to her first… the fucker had gone completely mental. He shot me in the leg, disarmed me, and made me look at her. She'd been raped, and eventually killed, lying dead next to Skye and Welsh."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"And, you know what the best part is?" He asked, with a fire burning in his eyes as two gleaming tears skewed down his chiseled cheeks in neat rivulets. For the first time, she saw his true anger, the anger that was always hiding behind the despair, waiting to pounce. He was almost as formidable as Joel. She looked deeply into his glass-green eyes, and saw minuscule flecks of yellow around his irises.

"He carved a fucking red circle into her stomach, with a line perpendicular to the top, and hung her from a pole. He hung me opposite her, and left me for a week. I was almost dead when Blufor came along and let me down."

He dipped his head, and his fury dissolved into sadness.

"Sometimes I wish he hadn't. Sometimes I wish he'd just left me to die of fucking thirst. Blufor carried me for eight years, before we met the bastard again. He gave me his car to escape while he defended the exit of the compound we were trapped in. His last words to me on the radio before he died were; '_never forget her, Adam. Never forget the people who made you.' _You can imagine how I felt when I saw a squad of men wearing that fucking symbol on their lapels._"_

He stood, and attempted to regain his composure, re-wrapping the tattoo in the bandage he'd removed earlier.

"So I got that tattoo the next day, and recorded everyone I'd lost, so I'd never forget what happened. What he did to them. I swore to hunt that bastard down, and I'm going to-"

"Adam? Adam!" They heard Evelynn shout from the medical room, her voice clearly distressed. "Adam, get in here now!"

"Oh, shit!" Ellie said, the tones of fear creeping back into her voice.

"C'mon." Adam retorted sharply, grabbing Ellie firmly by the wrist and leading her behind him. He swiftly moved through the door into the hall-like room, and then barged through the next metal door into Evelynn's operating set-up.

She'd stitched both of Joel's wounds shut, and the equipment that had been pristine when Ellie had left was now thick with deep red blood. On the tray to her right, a long, tube-looking lump of red flesh lay in a puddle of the vicious crimson liquid.

"You didn't tell me just how much blood he'd lost! His heart's failing; get me the adrenaline, stat!"

"Copy!" He let go of Ellie and darted from the room, re-entering not five seconds later with his backpack. He again took out the leather satchel, and drew the last orange-liquid filled syringe and handed it to Evelynn.

"Get me three clean syringes!" She commanded with urgency whilst injecting the fluid into the prominent vein on the underside of Joel's arm. He was almost as white and the bed sheets he lay on.

Ellie darted over to the bench where the equipment was sitting, and scooped three clear-glass syringes into her hands.

"What's his blood type, Ellie?"

"AB+." Ellie replied, without really processing the question.

"Shit, that's convenient." Adam said behind her.

Alarms went off in her mind. She turned around to see that Adam had exposed the back of his arm and was waiting expectantly for her to bring the syringes to Evelynn to give Joel a blood transfusion. He had flecks in his eyes, just like Evelynn.

Cordyceps.

"No…" She said, realizing the gravity of the situation. "No!" She screamed, tears cascading down her cheeks.

"Ellie, what's wrong?" Adam inquired, baffled by her sudden outburst.

"She's infected!" She screamed, pointing straight at Evelynn. "She's fucking infected."

Evelynn was sitting in silence, her head down, in realisation of the situation.

"Evelynn?" Adam asked, shaken by the conviction with which Ellie had placed her accusation.

She sighed. "Little shit looked in my eyes, didn't she…"

Adam had backed away from her, and was almost at the door. Evelynn met his gaze, and for the first time, he clearly saw the yellow streaks that coursed through the glistening blueness of her eyes.

"Evelynn…?" He asked again.

"She's infected, and she's infected you! You're only going to infect Joel, too. Look!"

Adam took the metal tray that Ellie had handed to him, and looked at his reflection.

"I… I can't see anything."

"Look properly!"

He moved the tray closer to his face, and inspected. Sure enough, yellow streaks interrupted the green of his eyes. His were almost as prominent as Evelynn's, but masked by the colour his eyes wore.

He turned to her, his face a picture of shock and desperation.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked, the anger rising in his voice.

"Adam, I-"

"Why didn't you fucking tell me?" He shouted, falling into the wall behind him and sliding down it to sit on the floor in disbelief.

She walked quickly over to him, and tried to embrace him.

"Adam, baby, don't worry, I can-"

He got up quickly, pushed past her and moved to the other side of the room, his face contorted with anger.

He turned slowly to face her upon reaching the opposite wall, and spoke in the quietest and most intimidating tone Ellie had heard in a long time.

"How long do I have?"

Evelynn had her hands raised in front of her, trying to calm him down. She was obviously well aware of the fury he possessed when he was roused.

"Adam… listen to me."

He stood there in silence, boring holes into her with his gaze. She continued.

"I told you I could fix this for everyone, didn't I?"

"You lied."

"No!" She almost screamed, made desperate by the thought of losing someone she loved. "No, I didn't! I can fix this! You brought bodies to me to examine, bodies of the infected. That was before… before we…"

"Before you fucked me! Before you killed me!"

"No, before I fucking fell in love with you! I don't even remember how it happened. Some infected brain juice or something got in my eye, and later that day we shared the night together. I didn't even fucking realize until the day after!"

"And then what? Why haven't I turned? This was nearly two years ago, I should be a fucking Clicker!"

She stuttered, her composure thrown by his anger and sense of betrayal.

"I-I-I spent the next two days solidly working, and I tried everything I could to develop some way of stopping what I'd done!"

"How?" He demanded.

"I tried remedies, antibiotics, antidotes, vaccines… I got nowhere. We had less than 48 hours when I finally had a breakthrough."

"How did you do this?" He demanded, with more force.

"I created a carbon compound that naturally lowers the reaction rates between the compounds in our bodies and the compounds in Cordyceps. You probably don't understand a word of the jargon, but in Layman's terms, it drew the incubation stage from 3 days to around 5 years. Since then, I've tried. I've tried so fucking hard to find a cure. I just can't do it, Adam! Scientist tries to play God and ends up killing the only person who ever cared for her! It's almost cliché."

"So you've been fucking drugging me, too?"

"Adam, I didn't mean it like that! I never meant for any of this!"

He just stood there, brooding.

"It doesn't change the matter at hand, though. I have hundreds of syringes of the compound, and if Joel doesn't get some blood soon, he'll die."

Ellie felt almost as betrayed as Adam did. In a timid and frightened voice, she verbalized the two options they had.

"So… if he doesn't get blood, he definitely dies. If he does get blood, he definitely dies, just in 5 years."

No one spoke. Adam took the syringes, filled them himself, and then stormed out of the room, grabbing a rifle from his rack and moving out of the compound of buildings. She heard the door from the entryway open, and then slam shut, the wheel turning and the bolt clicking into place shortly afterward.

She waited in silence, and when Evelynn asked her if she wanted to continue, she just nodded. She watched in despair as the thick red liquid was injected into his veins, one syringe, then the next, then the next. When it was over, Ellie lingered for a moment to see Joel's heart rate level out and his blood pressure increase, then left Evelynn alone in the operating room. She moved quickly to Adam's room, plucked the Magnum out of the rack, and made for the exit to the cave. The last thing she heard on the way out of the buildings were Evelynn's muffled sobs.

She heaved on the cold metal door, and it opened more easily under her anger than it had under her fatigue. She slammed it shut, and opened the second one, exiting out into the darkness of the cave, and made her way towards the bright orifice above that signified morning had arrived.


	7. Chapter 7 - Awakening

It was hours until she found him, sitting on the side of a lush green hill, covered by the shade of the trees as they swayed gently in the cool mountain air. He was staring into the earth, his head down and solemn. Next to him lay a fresh kill – he'd already gutted, skinned and carved a large doe that he'd taken down. Surprisingly enough, she hadn't heard a single gunshot, though he was holding a long and razor-sharp survival knife his in left hand, of which she assumed was the suspect. She remembered the deftness he'd displayed when he rescued her, and wasn't surprised that he could sneak up on a stray deer that was too busy devouring the grass directly beneath its muzzle.

She felt sorry for him, sitting in his despair; not the feigned 'sorrow' she had felt for others, which was just like a sad sense of being the lucky one, but a deep and pained sadness at what'd occurred over the last day.

Evelynn been infected for two years, and so had he. She kept the information from him in her cowardice, and didn't give him the respect he deserved, despite her bullshit excuse about an inhibitor she'd invented. She was crafty, that one. Ellie made a note to watch what she said around her. Despite her caution, she felt a strange guilt and responsibility for the whole situation. If she'd never suggested going in to that town, or moved towards that rifle on the counter, none of this would have happened.

Although, if it hadn't happened, they would surely have died.

Evelynn was looking desperately for a cure, and Ellie had it. She wasn't going to let the mad scientist into her brain anytime soon, though.

Shortly after leaving, she'd had a sudden urge to return to Joel, shocked that her anger had made her walk out on him. By that time, she was already a good mile away from the crumbling, dilapidated mine, and assured herself he would be fine. If anything happened, he could easily overpower Evelynn, and then Adam would be the main problem.

She banished the thought of having to kill them from her mind. Adam had been betrayed by a loved one; and as far as she could tell, the only one who could keep him sane after what he'd suffered. Anyone else and he would've tipped over the deep end and plunged into insanity a long time ago.

She stood in cover behind a tree, out of his line of sight. She peered around the edge cautiously, unsure of the state she'd find him in.

"Come out." He said, almost trivially, not looking up from the floor. "I know you've been following me."

His ability at situational awareness was almost unnerving. Still, he was a hardened survivor as well as a trained and disciplined trooper. It was his job to know where people were.

"Adam… I'm sorry." She walked over to where he was sitting, and lowered herself down next to him. "I didn't mean for that… it's just… Joel and I have come too far. Losing him to infection… it's an insult, it's just a fucking insult to all he's done for me."

He lifted his head from his arms, and turned to face her. She could see the redness around his eyes and tracks down the dirt on his face where he'd been distraught earlier. It was oddly reassuring to her that she'd seen him cry – he had humanity, a trait that Joel sometimes lacked. A warm smile spread across his face, and she felt his muscular arm wrap around her, and his hand ruffle her hair.

"It's alright, champ. You did the right thing."

She was surprised by how quickly he'd coped with the situation. The yellowish flecks in his eyes were increasing in size – they were ever so slightly thicker than they had been a few hours ago.

"Wha… you're not pissed at me?"

"No. Evie was the one at fault."

"You're pissed at her, then?"

"No, I'm not. At the time, to say I was emotionally compromised was putting it very lightly. It just… seemed like such a waste. Everything I'd done, done for her, for Joanna, for you… just to turn into a mindless walking mushroom. Regardless of her not telling me, she also did the right thing. I'm proud of her guts, and her initiative. And of yours."

The sun was slowly descending over the crest of the mass of hills, casting a beautiful, bright gleam over everything it looked down on. The grass turned a shade of gold, and the trees were wearing robes of flowing yellow and burning orange. There was still beauty and perfection left in this broken world, both in people and places.

She wrapped her arm around his broad shoulders, and he did the same with her. She rested her head on his shoulder, exhausted by her anger-provoked journey to this little spot.

It was nowhere in particular, and it wouldn't be marked on any map. She was more than thankful for that. Beneath them, a tiny stream gurgled and bubbled, the crystalline and transparent water reflecting the glow of the evening sun and travelling like a rivulet of molten copper, pure and bright. The air was gradually cooling down, and a shiver spiraled around her body. She had left the base in such a state that she hadn't even picked up her jacket from Adam's room.

He sensed this, and removed his, gently placing it over her arms and onto her body. The jacket was old, and carried a wide array of aromas, from synthetic gunpowder to the earthy musk of mud, and a plethora of others that she couldn't place. It was charcoal grey, and water resistant on the exterior – some type of hide or leather – with an interior of pure wool underneath a layer of polypropylene. It insulated her better than anything she'd ever worn before, despite being almost big enough for her to sleep in. The epaulettes carried a strange and dutiful pattern that she'd never seen – when she asked him what it meant, he explained it as an identification system for his fellow soldiers. Sure enough, embroidered over the breast pocket were the words 'GUNNERY SGT. ADAM J. CASSEL.'

"So… with Joanna? I'm sorry for bringing it up earlier. I know how shitty it is to talk about your pasts with people."

"It's fine, Ellie. '_Memento, populum qui fecit vos'."_

She wondered what he was talking about, until she glanced at his shoulder and read the tattoo a second time.

"_'Remember the people who made you.'_" He translated. "It does me good to remember. It gives me drive. Motivates me to save others, and stop the same from happening to them."

She leaned back into his arms, and gazed up at the sky, ablaze with orange.

"Do you ever get tired with it?"

He chuckled, and jokingly replied.

"Truth be told, I'd rather drop this whole business and sit in front of the telly with a glass of whiskey."

"Jack Daniels?"

"Fuck no!" He added sarcastically. "Scottish whiskey. Real whiskey."

She continued their conversation, asking what she thought was right as it came into her mind.

"How did Joanna die?"

He sighed gently. "What I told you was really the basic details. The truth behind the matter was the Pyotr and his men raped her after they'd shot her. Idiots. She died of the wounds to her chest long before they finished."

"Shit, that's gross. They may as well have been fucking a Clicker."

There was silence.

"No offence." She added, worried that her joke had gone amiss.

"None taken." He responded casually. "I understood your intention."

"I guess… I just wanted to say, I know what that's like."

He looked at her, unsure of her meaning.

"What what's like?"

"The… the raping."

"Oh my god. Surely you haven't been…"

"No, no. Joel got to me just in time, but… I know the fear. The one in your base, the cannibal you crossed out with black?"

"That guy? What, David or something?"

She shuddered at his name, and that gave Adam all the confirmation he needed.

"A real shady character, that one, along his entire group."

He didn't elaborate any further; he just sighed deeply and looked into the distance, still holding her gently in his arms.

"_Desperation makes animals out of men._" He muttered quietly.

That sat together in the meadow for another few minutes, simply wallowing in the peace and comfort of the moment. Eventually, Adam suggested that they ought to return to the base and face whatever awaited them there. He was almost as apprehensive to see Evelynn as she was. Joel was probably still dreaming, completely unaware of the drama that had unfolded meters away from him only a few hours previously.

They had just got up to collect the deer and leave when Adam remembered something, dropped the meat, and moved in the opposite direction.

"It's this way." He said.

"What is?"

"A job for us."

She did as she was told, and tagged closely behind him as they approached and began traversing a steep hillside that crumbled easily underfoot. They helped each other ascend, with her going first, directing him into foot and handholds that were big enough to accommodate his size without collapsing under the weight. To her right, she saw the path he had taken up the dirty hillside earlier – it had slid away, creating a large gap in the earthen ramp and revealing a thick wall of fresh, moist dirt that lay below.

Every now and again, a root sprouted conveniently out of the side of the bank and allowed Adam a little reprieve from the threat of sliding all the way back down to the meadow. They had climbed a good ten meters, and top of the sharp ridge was in sight, revealing a tiny flat plateau. She couldn't see over the top, and wasn't tall enough to reach the brim. He acknowledged this, and jumped the last two meters, grasping hold of the grass and dirt and heaving himself up onto the flat, rocky platform. He moved over to her and pulled her up – she was weightless in his grip, and she flew up and over the edge with ease. Observing her surroundings, she noticed Adam's gigantic rifle set up on a stone outcrop, turned south. Beyond that, she saw the very tops of two gigantic cooling towers; grey monstrosities that interrupted the lush beauty of the forest. Nearby, she assumed was some form of electrical power plant. It made her realise just how far they'd strayed from the base. On the top of one of the towers, she saw black writing, but it was too far away to discern.

Adam was prone on the ridge, gazing down the scope.

"I was here the day before I left to attack the red-rings." He said, angling the gun carefully. "And this wasn't here. It's recent."

He locked the gun into place, and moved away from it. With curiosity, she lowered herself to the ground, and shuffled into the massive weapon. Her arms barely reached beyond the trigger.

She lowered her head, and pressed her cheek up against the cool metal, her right eye looking directly into the scope. The magnification on it was huge, and there was a tiny '20x' scribed on the bottom of the lens in black, beneath the mill dots.

She focused her eyes, and as she adapted to the magnification, the fuzzy image at the end of the scope became clear.

Written on the side of the tower in massive, black letters, were five words.

'WATCHER, HELP US.' And beneath that, 'SOUTH EAST.'

"Holy shit." She muttered.

"I know, I thought the same. Look to the second tower."

She gently nudged the gun to the right, and the second tower slid into view.

The crest of Pyotr's hunters hung on the concrete like a curse; a bright red circle, with a line perpendicular to the top on the interior. The words 'BRING GUNS' were written beneath, in the same writing.

"There's a large town about thirty miles south-east of that plant. It powers the whole area, but that signal was written by people in the facility. Looks pretty fucking abandoned to me, though."

"What're you thinking?" She asked, leaning up from the gun and looking at him.

"We go and take a look." He said, surveying the area. "There's an entrance just over there." He gestured to a gap in the treeline, way off in the distance. "We get in, see what happened, and leave."

"What if there are red-rings?"

"We don't engage. I survey the situation first."

"Gotcha."

"Let's head back, it's getting late. I need to tell Evelynn, and gear up."

Ellie continued to look down the scope, marvelling at how far she could see. She scanned the area, trying to find anything of interest to discuss with him. She saw the exterior chain-link fencing, and what looked like bunkroom-type buildings inside the compound – the forest had been cleared away in swathes to make room for the man-made monstrosity, but it was slowly regaining its territory. The last light of the sun warped the shadows of the trees and objects in the compound, extending them so that she could see them in detail.

One of the shadows moved.

Adam crouched next to her, aware of her sighting.

"What do you see?" He asked, once again all business.

"I see some kind of… what the fuck is that?"

A huge, grotesque humanoid figure came lumbering out of one of the bunkhouses, its body swollen massively, pulsing and throbbing from the Cordyceps that had taken hold of it. The thing was gigantic, and fungus exploded erratically out of its head and stomach; its arms were disproportionately large, and the fungus had grown to form vicious-looking spikes from each wrist down. She couldn't tell for definite, but it looked larger than even a Bloater.

"Move." Adam said, his voice hushed. Ellie was transfixed, examining the abomination from the safety of distance as it limped around, hunched over.

"Move!" He said again, more forcibly. She shuffled to the left, and he positioned himself on the gargantuan rifle.

"God… I've never seen one like that before. That… that can't be natural."

She squinted at the towers, trying to identify the beast without the help of a magnifier.

"If we're going in there, I don't want that thing alive."

"How the hell are we supposed to kill it?"

He didn't look up or reply, instead pulling back the bolt on the rifle and snapping it into place. She got the idea, and covered her ears.

He waited until the monster decided to stop, and then carefully trained the crosshair of the scope in the centre of the fungal plume that had burst out of its skull.

He raised the rifle, angling the mill dots accordingly to the distance they were at. He inhaled deeply, and on the exhalation, fired.

The sound the gun made was massive, ricocheting around the valley below. He saw the massive anti-personnel round tear through the natural armour, ripping a majority of it away from the skull of the behemoth.

The abomination turned, and looked toward the sound it'd heard. From Adam's perspective, it was looking straight at him. The round had done nothing.

"Oh shit!" He cursed, hurriedly pulling the bolt and slamming it back into place, sending a used cartridge cascading out the side of the rifle. He re-adjusted and fired a second time. Due to his hurry, the bullet fell short and entered the beast's left shoulder, tearing the arm from its socket and spraying giblets all over the compound. He saw it roar, and the blood-curdling sound hit them moments later. Down the scope, it began moving straight towards the chain-link fence at the edge of the compound, directly towards the outcrop.

"A…Adam?" Ellie managed, fear seeping into her voice.

"Holy fuck!" He almost shouted, half in frustration and half in fear. The bolt was pulled back and a second cartridge flew out the side of the weapon, cascading down the hill.

The target was advancing, and very pissed off. A moving headshot at just short of 1000m wasn't an easy one by any means. He aimed the crosshair straight at the remainder of the beast's head, accounted for distance, and loosed another round on his exhalation. There was an explosion of crimson, and the infected's upper torso was torn straight from its body. The unnaturally large corpse collapsed backwards onto the cracked concrete floor of the compound.

Then the screams started.

Runners poured from the bunkhouses and the plant, stirred by the immensely loud rifle, and their comrade's roar – there were too many for Adam to count, and far too many to fight. Where their abominable colleague had strength, they had speed, and outmatched two unequipped survivors.

"Run." He said, rearing back from the rifle.

Ellie just stood there, shocked by the situation.

"Run!" He shouted again.

He scooped the rifle off of the floor, quickly folded away the bipod and slung it over his shoulders, sprinting back towards the edge of the plateau. He moved towards the drop-off, and when Ellie hesitated, jumped off the side and slid down the dirt on his back, coming rest in the cool grass of the meadow. She followed suit, coming to a stop just by him. They ran over to the deer carcass, and he hurriedly collected the two haunches of meat in each arm and moved off, breaking into a sprint. He was fast, and she was struggling to keep up with him. They were almost ten miles away from the base, she calculated, and she was sure he could run that distance in under an hour alone. She was fit, but he was in his physical prime.

"That deer should keep them busy for a little while, but we can't afford to dawdle, c'mon!"

As the sun shrank below the horizon and the cooling air flowed in and out of her lungs, she reflected on the burly Scotsman running in front of her. The screams behind them had dissipated to silence a few minutes later, and Adam had slightly slowed his pace at her request. He had a strange mentality; where the despair he endured on a daily basis would crush most people, he used it as fuel, as drive for his cause. He'd done some amazing things, and some terrible things, if you heard him tell it. Ellie was just glad he had the mercy to get her out of the cage.

She wondered what his squad were doing in the States, and why they came here in the first place; she never saw it for herself, but Marlene had told her that the outbreak in the US dwarfed anything that had happened elsewhere in the world.

They ran under trees and natural canopies, with the damp of the forest and the sound of birds the only thing present. The weight of Adam's jacket was hard on her, but she kept pace with him well, pushing herself to match him. They ran solidly for half an hour, and when darkness overwhelmed the forest, she found her eyes becoming gradually keener at discerning shapes and objects. The trees became vanguards, standing watch over her, giant and silent, ready to crush her foes.

They stopped briefly at the ruins of an old, rusted-out pickup truck, and caught their breath. Adam drew his brown leather satchel, and took out a syringe, this time with Eveylnn's inhibitor sitting thick and transparent in the tube. He carefully stuck it into his arm and injected the lot.

"Physical stress accelerates the infection, we saw as much with the first few cases… I always hated having my shots, but it's paying off now."

He chuckled anecdotally, thriving on the adrenaline of the situation.

"We're nearly back; we made incredible time. Ready to go for some more?"

"Sure." Ellie managed between her panting, and broke back into a steady jog behind Adam.

They ran together for another solid half hour, with Ellie taking one of the deer haunches to make life easier on Adam. They reached the road leading up to the mine, and passed through the gap in the orange-rusted chain link fence where the gate had once stood. The gravel track was harder on her feet than the earth, and the incline of the hill ignited a fire in her thighs that burned vigorously for the entire ascent. Despite the physical pain, the clenching in her neck and the dryness of her throat, she kept pace with Adam the entire way up, and entered the mouth of the cave first. Both of them had neglected to bring a flashlight, and so navigating the cave took longer than usual. They found the door after about 5 minutes, shifted the cabinets, opened it, and moved inside, replacing the camouflage and sealing the air-lock tight. They opened the second door and spilled into the brightly-lit cave, both panting vigorously. Ellie leaned up first and rested on her elbows, and started laughing. Adam leaned up, and joined in. The two lay there, laughing hysterically.

"Something tickle you two?"

Evelynn was sitting on a wooden crate on the other side of the underground stream, a wide grin stretched across her face.

"Where have you been? I've been so fucking worried about you!" She asked jokingly, mainly being happy that they'd managed to return in one piece.

"I went to find Adam," Ellie began, "but he'd-"

"- Gone to track a deer." Adam contributed, holding up one of the bloody haunches of venison.

"Oh yeah? Well, that's convenient."

Adam stood, and walked over the bridge to her.

"How so?" He asked, open to what she had to say.

"We've got another mouth to feed."

She turned slightly, and raised her voice.

"Joel?"

The door behind her edged open, and a man carefully walked out, trying to cope with his injuries.

"I heard you, I'm coming. I was just looking at the-"

"Joel?" Ellie shouted with delight, running over the bridge and past Adam.

"Ellie?" He turned at her voice, and moved towards her, tearing up.

"Joel!" She said, and threw herself into his arms. The two embraced tightly, and Joel drew sharp intake of breath, wincing.

"Careful, kiddo, that still ain't quite fixed." He chuckled gently, ecstatic to see her again.

"Joel…" She said, gently sobbing into his shirt. "I thought, I thought you'd… when he stabbed you, I mean-"

"I know."

"And then Adam was there, and he killed that fucker, and saved you, and we-"

"I know, Ellie. Evelynn told me everything."

He looked up at Adam, still holding Ellie in his arms.

"Everything, including the man who saved us. I owe you, Adam. Truly."

"It's nothing." He responded courteously. "Did she tell you about…?"

"Yeah. Yeah, she did."

Adam stood there, trying to formulate an apology.

"I'm-"

"Don't be sorry." He interjected, almost sensing Adam's remorse. "It gave me a better chance than I would'a had anyway. But... there's something little Ellie didn't tell you about." He ruffled her hair affectionately.

This took Evelynn's interest, and she hopped off of the box, taking her place next to Adam and sliding her hand into his.

"What is it?" She asked, the spark of curiosity in her eyes.

Joel smiled for the first time in an age, and said:

"She's immune."


	8. Chapter 8 - Contingency

"This changes everything." She said, suddenly massively relieved and motivated, the occurrences of the last day drifting to the back of her mind. "This changes everything!"

Ellie was sitting on the bed that Joel had been laying unconscious on not a day earlier. He had slowly been re-adapting to regular movement, limping around the base and gradually getting used to being back in his own skin. The injury he'd sustained had changed him – he was still Joel, but he seemed less… cold. It was almost as if he were welcoming of the new people, where a well-justified suspicion had conquered before. He'd already accepted Adam and Evelynn as friends, and politely greeted them when walking by, or conversing with them eagerly about the days before the crisis. He talked culture with Evelynn; music, pictures, movies, and subjects to that degree. With Adam, he discussed war stories, and traded evaluations of events both of them had been through leading up to this point. She was overjoyed he was alive, but she was inevitably jealous of the similarities that they shared with the two that she did not. She was young, and most of her time had been spent in a military safe zone – she had nowhere near the same amount of tales, close-scrapes or stories of selfless heroics.

Still, she had grown to like these people, as had Joel. They were a dysfunctional pair; the Healer and the Reaper, being overly happy together in a horror-filled world. When Evelynn had first asked to look for proof of her immunity, she'd reacted with excuses and hesitation, and locked up. Evelynn and Adam had both talked to her, and bored her shitless with 'how good it will be for humanity' and 'how we can save everyone.' Frankly, the only person she cared about saving was Joel, and she only gave in for his sake, not because of their chastising.

Regardless of that, she had sat bolt upright on the side of the bed with numerous patches and wires connected to her head while Evelynn buzzed about, scanning her with some weird machine that looked like a fancy spatula. It drew so much power that the lights went out and Adam had to quickly run to turn on the hydro-electric generator in the nearby cave. After the interruption, the scientist continued.

She had fluttered around Ellie's head for about twenty minutes before a set of black, grainy images had appeared on the computer monitor next to her. She saw a familiar shape – the front, side and top views of a skull – and something that baffled her completely; it looked like a mushy puddle of flesh, jammed right inside the hollow interior of the organic structure. She thought she'd seen it before, but it was always flying quickly out of its owner's cranium or splattered on a nearby wall.

"That's your brain, Ellie. I took a scan based on what Joel told me."

The slender, black haired woman turned and looked her over with those bright-blue eyes, swimming in intelligence.

"Have you ever seen it before?"

"Fuck no!" She replied, baffled and amazed at the same time by the technology before her. "How the hell did you guys get this stuff?"

"We did a couple of hits on a hospital together, back in the day." The burly, kind Scotsman said as he walked calmly over to the assessment. "The life-support and utensils we got from there, but I picked the rest up from universities and colleges over the years."

"That there equipment must'a been worth millions." Joel added, sitting on a chair on the far side of the operating room and eargly examining the LMG Adam had picked up from the bandits, almost an age ago now.

"Not far off, actually." Evelynn countered, the excitement evident in her voice as she transferred the image to a different monitor and annotated for the rest of them.

"This equipment may just save us, along with this remarkable young lady here." She ruffled Ellie's hair, and the sixteen year old couldn't supress a smile at the affectionate touch of the elder woman.

"Alright, Doc. What've you got for us?" Adam took residence in another seat, next to Joel. He leaned over, and whispered in the Scotsman's ear.

"Feels like Chemistry class all over again, huh?"

"Fuck, I hated chemistry." He replied with a jest.

Evelynn turned with a face of mocked shock, and then scoffed.

"That's Professor to you, Gunnery Sergeant." She turned back around, and rotated a chunky monitor to face them. "Plus, chemistry is wonderful, as we'll see here."

"Alright, shoot." Joel spoke, all ears. Adam had temporarily controlled his humour, and his face was a painting of curiosity.

Evelynn showed six grainy-black pictures on the monitor, with large blobs visible inside the frail outline of two different human skulls. She gestured towards them, and elaborated.

"Here we have exhibit A, Asymptomatic Carrier with synthetic immunosuppressant. To the right, exhibit B, the Immune subject. What do you notice?"

"This really is like chemistry class." Joel uttered, leaving Adam tittering in his seat.

"Children, behave." She turned to Ellie, and posed the question again.

"What do you notice, Ellie?"

She glanced over at the monitor, and compared the left three images with the three on the right. For the first time, she understood what people meant by _'we're all same on the inside',_ with the distinct differences in her and Evelynn's faces ignored by the X-ray scan she had performed. She saw their brains, sitting in their skulls, and was awe-inspired that such an unappealing lump of grey mush determined everything about a person's identity and uniqueness - everything they would say and do for their entire lives.

Upon closer inspection, Ellie did notice the differences that Evelynn was alluding to. The brain on the left – assuming it belonged to Evelynn – had peculiar and almost vivid-white anomalies around the lobes of the lump of flesh. Ellie had them too, but in Evelynn's images, they were in a different place every time, almost as if they were moving. Ellie's were smaller, and stationary.

"Those white blobs. They don't move in my pictures."

"Precisely." The scientist said, proud that someone had picked up on her ingenuity.

"What're we getting at, Evie?"

She paced up and down the room as she explained, her hiking boots making a soft footfall as she walked slowly on the concrete floor. Ellie couldn't get over the stereotypical manner with which the scientist delivered her thoughts, suddenly all seriousness and professionalism.

"The blobs, so adequately named, are precisely that; blobs of Cordyceps, of fungus, in the brain. Technically, both of us could be classed as Asymptomatic Carriers; however - there is one major difference. Look at the position of the blobs in the images."

The men examined closely, and saw what she wanted them to.

"The blobs don't move with Ellie." Adam issued, beginning to grasp what she was getting at, but also beginning to falter under the weight of all the medical terminology.

"Exactly my point. My chemical is an immunosuppressant – in Layman's terms, it drastically lowers the reaction rate of the carbon compounds in Cordyceps with the carbon compounds in the brain, exponentially increasing incubation time and temporarily countering turning of the subject. As a result, for a long period of time, the subject will experience nothing but minor symptoms, like the tiny rivulets of fungus around the iris. Ellie, however, is brilliantly unique – the fungus has already chemically bonded to the compounds in her brain tissue. It's fixed in, and taken hold, but it hasn't overridden the brain and killed the subject, like it has the overwhelming mass of the infected populous."

"So, it's just sitting there?" Joel inquired, trying to sift through Evelynn's complex sermon.

"Not only sitting there, but co-existing. The two are connected symbiotically, and as such, the subject experiences no symptoms. It's a biological miracle – people have built immunities to diseases in past through exposure, usually in the form of vaccines, but this is completely different. It's manifesting in her brain, her blood, her organs – but it's not using her as a host. It's almost like it's… helping her."

"Helping her?" Joel inquired again.

"Yes." She sat down, and chewed on the end of a blue ballpoint pen as millions of thoughts flitted through her head. The opportunity of creating a cure from her bloodstream and brain fluid was too important to pass up, and she knew that, but… she also knew what had to happen. She wasn't going to murder an innocent girl, especially not one who was a gutsy as she was. Ellie sullenly reminded Evelynn of herself at that age – hot-headed and expressive, but a genuine and beautiful person underneath the boisterousness. She glanced down at her tattoos; an exploit of her adventurous youth that probably ought to have been spent studying. She had warmed to Ellie, almost in a motherly sense, and that confused her; despite the unsure nature of her feelings, she wasn't going to let anything happen to the girl she'd come to care a surprisingly large amount for.

Joel had surprised her, initially. She had temporarily left the operating room to go and lie alone on the bed she shared with Adam, debating to go out after him and Ellie, when she'd heard movement from the lab. She walked in to find him sitting upright on the side of the bed, awake but delirious. She'd shot him up with painkillers and her inhibitor, then they talked over a meal, and she'd explained everything that'd happened. She included the information about his infection, and how he got it, but omitted how she transferred it to Adam; she imagined he could figure that one out for himself.

"I wonder…" She began. "You say the Fireflies tried to synthesise a cure from your brain fluid?"

"No," Joel interjected, "There weren't any plans to synthesise. They ain't exactly PC when it comes to operations. I picked up audio logs by their big-wig surgeon in charge, and all he alluded to were cuttin' up brains to see what'd happened."

"Brains, in the plural?"

"Yeah, similar, but none to the same degree as Ellie's."

"I see."

Evelynn cast her mind back and remembered her first day with the girl; she hadn't observed much, except very slight bruising and unusual faults in the skin of her right arm when she'd drawn up her sleeve to put on her pair of plastic gloves, and how hurriedly she'd yanked the sleeve back down afterwards. A photographic memory had served the scientist well in college, and it sure as hell worked now.

_That may be what you're looking for._

"Do you have a bite?" She asked courteously, turning her ocean-blue eyes on the young girl.

"Wha… what do you mean?" Ellie responded, full of apprehension.

"It's fine. We're all infected anyway, remember? I'm just curious."

Without speaking, Ellie reluctantly pulled the reddish-brown sleeve of her hooded jacket up, revealing a ring of slightly marked skin, scarred where the teeth of an infected had sunk into her veins years ago. The ring of teeth marks was well healed, but was still visible.

"It was three weeks old when I met Joel."

Evelynn held Ellie's arm, and examined it curiously.

"The scarring tells me it was deep. How long did it take to heal over, completely?"

"Just under a month."

"Were you able to move the muscles normally, without pain?"

"Yeah. Damn well hurt to begin with, though."

Evelynn wore a satisfied expression, impressed with her own know-how as geniuses often are.

"Good, then I'm correct." She stood, and turned to the men. "It's helping her." She proclaimed.

"Evelynn," Adam began, moving over to her and wrapping his hands slowly around her waist. She grasped them warmly, and he rested his head gently against hers. "All this might make sense to a science major, but Joel and I… to say we're having a hard time comprehending is putting it lightly."

"Sorry, I just…" She looked up at him, and grinned. It was the most genuine smile he'd seen in years. "This… this is a scientific breakthrough, Adam. This is evolution, and I'm witnessing it happen! It's no different to adapting to the Black Death, or Tuberculosis. And you know the best part?"

She gestured towards Ellie's arm, highlighting it to him as an example.

"Deep tissue wounds take at least three months to heal, and a year to be useable without pain or tension in the muscles. Even then there are long-term effects! This was done and dusted in under a month, and she uses it just fine. It accelerated her healing! I don't know what else it could do, but… extend our lives? Cure other diseases, maybe?"

"Maybe." He said, calmly and quietly. "But it can wait for now, Evie. You've been at this for hours, and I seem to recall you haven't eaten."

She drew in close, their breath mingling together.

"Are you going to force me, Gunnery Sergeant?"

"If I have to, ma'am." A wide grin spread across his slim face.

Joel was too busy pouring over the pristine machine gun to pay much attention, but Ellie saw and spoke up.

"'Scuse me, Lovebirds. Are we gonna eat, or what?"

The two split apart quickly, still gingerly holding hands. Ellie hadn't spoken harshly; more with the tone of a joking friend than an annoyed onlooker. Joel had glanced upwards at her comment, and he smiled gently as the two stood hand in hand. It amused him in a strange way to see a physically mature man and woman flirting and reacting like confused teenagers, but it restored some faith in humanity for him, and it forced him to inadvertently reminisce about the days long gone. He had lived and loved in Adam's position, once; before Sarah, and before any of this. Despite the loss of his only daughter, he remained thankful of what he had been given and the chance he'd taken on Ellie that had ended up redeeming him from a life of under-the-board activities. No-one loved anymore in this cold world, save for him and Ellie. Now it seemed he'd finally found people outside the confines of Tommy's who actually possessed hearts.

"Right. Sorry." Adam said, laughing slightly. "Sometimes, we forget we've got visitors. It's been that long."

"I'll get the venison on the go." Evelynn said gently, kissing him lightly on the lips, lingering, and then taking her leave. The SAS veteran moved back over to the man he'd saved, and took the seat next to him.

Joel was still examining the gun, pulling the bolt and fiddling with the belt-fed drum magazine. Ellie moved over, and sat down next to him on the floor, leaning up against the chair and resting her head on his legs.

"She's quite the catch, huh?" He asked Adam casually, not looking up from the gun.

"Yeah, she is." He replied, staring thoughtfully at the wall in front of him. "She's got her issues, but we all do. She's the only one who took any interest in me for the last decade; everyone else I ran into or saved either died or moved off, going their own way."

"We both know what that's like." Joel affectionately placed his right hand on the top of Ellie's head.

"I know the dangers behind caring for someone in this world, but… when I saved her? I couldn't let her leave like everyone else. She's a genius, a prodigy in her field, but - she's a little… clumsy, as science types are. I wanted to stay and protect her."

"Same story with me and the young'un."

Ellie turned and looked at them with a face of mocked surprise.

"Hey, I am so not clumsy!"

All Joel did was chuckle gently, and ease himself out of the chair, groaning slightly at the dull pain in his abdomen. Adam followed suit, and the three left the operating room and moved through the hallway into Adam's contingency room.

"This is a helluva' lotta planning you got going here." Joel said, examining the trees up on the wall. "Didn't get much of a chance to look before, but damn."

"Yeah, you could say that." Adam replied, gently resting his hands on the desk lodged against the wall as Joel placed the cumbersome machine gun back in the rack.

He gazed at the faded picture of Joanna, and reminisced.

"It's so I'm ready, whenever I hear of bandit trouble nearby." He started. "I won't let people be treated like that, I-"

The recollection struck him like a bullet to the head; in the excitement of Joel waking up, and Evelynn's assessment of Ellie, he'd neglected to mention the sign plastered on the side of the power-plant, and the nightmarish and near invincible infected they'd encountered.

The red-ring burned into his mind like a beacon of fear.

"Adam?" Ellie asked, surprised by his sudden pause. "You what?"

"I… I'm hungry." He said, changing his tone, deciding now wasn't the time to bring it up. He needed to discuss the infected with Evelynn before anyone decided that going to the plant was a good idea. He didn't know whether that beast was the only one there.

"Who else is?" He smiled, hoping they'd bought his façade.

Ellie grinned, enticed by the thought of food. Evelynn had fuel for hours, just off of her own motivation, but the growing teen didn't share that trait of scientific supplement.

"Shit yes!" She replied, her stomach rumbling as it had been for hours.

A few minutes later, Evelynn emerged from a door that led to a room Ellie hadn't been in, her arms laden with four plates of deep-brown meat and colourful salad. It was the single most appetising thing she'd seen in weeks. She sat down in front of Joel with her plate, and dug into the well-cooked and steaming-hot goodness, as juices and grease filled her mouth. She talked with him constantly, almost giving herself indigestion; they talked about his wounds, their encounter with Krass, Tommy's place – she loved every moment, being surrounded by friends and good food. If she had ever wondered what the days before the infection were like, this experience granted her a fairly accurate idea.

Adam and Evelynn had sat with them briefly, but they had moved off to the other side of the room at Adam's request to discuss something together – Ellie didn't bother trying to decipher what – she wasn't in the least bit suspicious about the two. They were probably talking about gardening or science or something.

"So, kiddo. You been getting your fill of excitement while I've been sleeping?"

"Shit yes." She managed between mouthfuls. "These guys, though… they're different. I know how we agreed to be with new people, but… they're not like others, and they're sure as hell not bandits."

"No, I know." Joel replied, looking up from his food every now and again. He glanced over to the soldier and the scientist, his vision temporarily lingering on their conversation.

"They ain't the type to hurt people out of fun."

"I know. Did you hear what she was saying about me?"

"Yeah. If you don't mind me saying, seems a little too good to be true." He leaned back into his chair, and looked her straight in the eye. She'd forgotten how much she'd missed his gaze, until now.

"I don't understand much of that medical mumbo-jumbo, but… I'm willing to help 'em." He continued, his tone all business. "However," He interjected, "If it heads down the same route as the Fireflies, we bug out, same as before. Deal?"

Ellie was slightly wounded by his seemingly careless position to walk out on these two if they had to operate on her. She wanted to argue, to state how it would be better for everyone, even if it meant her own death… but she didn't. Part of her knew that she was the only reason the big guy fought anymore.

As she looked at him, she began to realise just how his injuries had taken their toll – it almost seemed as if he'd aged five years in the few days he'd been near-death. Grey streaks now dominated his hairline, and his face and more lines and creases than ever. Despite this, she had no doubt he would still protect her, with his life. She was just worried that his life was slightly more endangered than before. Yellow-green streaks extended out around the irises of his eyes.

"Deal." She replied, making the decision to stay with Joel if things went south.

Adam and Evelynn had finished their conversation, and moved back over to the four-person table they were seated at. Evelynn sat down, and Adam brought a map over, standing by the side of the table and leaning up against it. On inspection, she saw it was a map of the nearby area; the mountain that the mine was located in was identified, and so was another area around ten miles south. The map was badly worn, and obviously very old, covered in symbols and writing that showed secret paths and supply drops, houses, facilities and towns. She glanced at the highlighted area to the south, and saw the words "NUCLEAR POWER STATION" written in black ink.

The plant. She'd almost forgotten what'd happened that day.

Adam dictated and issued his plan, slipping into the role of a military commander.

"Sorry to interrupt everyone's dinner, but I remembered something a moment ago that it was unprofessional of me to let slip."

"Alright Sarge, shoot. What is it?" Joel inquired, turning in his chair to face the Scotsman.

"I made a small recon excursion to this power plant, here, yesterday." He gestured to the black circle in the lower part of the map.

"Ellie came with me. All seemed well until I scoped in on one of the cooling towers. A signal had been left there, for me."

"What did it say?" Joel inquired, presumably in the dark about their encounter.

"WATCHER, HELP US, SOUTH EAST. On the second cooling tower, to the right of that, was this symbol." Adam slammed a piece of paper down on the table, bearing the red-ring of Pyotr's hunter triad. Joel examined it for a moment, and then made the connection. The sniper who took down Ellie wore the same logo on his chest, as had Krass Dubrovnik, the man who had interrogated him. He wondered where he'd seen it recently, and then recalled the information; Adam had been tracking them for a while, with the tree on his wall following their every movement. He remembered what Evelynn had told him about their endeavour getting up here, how Adam had finished Dubrovnik, and how she believed the leader of this group was the man who murdered Adam's sister, all those years ago.

"Those bastards." He said.  
"Exactly. Those bastards."

He moved around the room, exited briefly, and then returned with the gargantuan rifle in his hands.

"That isn't all, though." He placed the behemoth of a gun down on the table.

"Can you tell me what this rifle fires, Joel?"

He gently picked the gun up, carrying it as easily in his hands as Adam had the day before.

"I don't know for definite, but something damn big. Anti-personnel, maybe?"

"Bigger. Anti-materiel. 50 caliber."

"So what?"

He rested his hands on the edge of the table once more, and continued.

"There was… an infected, down there. Ellie should remember it."

She did, and she contributed to the conversation.

"It was fucking huge, Joel. Like, twice the size of a goddamn Bloater!"

He didn't say anything, only looking at Adam again, his face all work and no play.

The Scotsman continued.

"The behemoth that was there… was not natural. It had fungus forming on its arms like weapons. It looked… it looked fucking mutated. It took three shots with this rifle to take the thing down, where it usually tears through Bloaters and damn near anything else in one."

"And you want us to go in there with you, is that it?"

Joel had practically read Adam's mind.

"Yes." He admitted. "I'm sorry. I know you've just woken up, but we need all the help we can get. If this is linked to those red-ringed bastards… to Pyotr… then this is more than just about saving people. I… I need to do this, Joel."

He turned to Evelynn, and said:

"And I need everyone to come with me."


	9. Chapter 9 - Power to the People

It'd taken them all a good forty minutes to gear up after Adam had requested their help on his mission to the power plant. Joel had accepted almost immediately despite his injuries, Evelynn had been reluctant to even leave the base, and Ellie had just been downright scared, swimming in fear at the memory of the gigantic infected that had taken residence in the bunkrooms.

Evelynn looked decidedly foolish in her survival gear – it was military standard, like Adam's, but she wore it with awkwardness and disdain; clearly field work wasn't her forte. Her slender body was made redundant as she was fleshed out considerably by the clothing, leaving her looking peculiarly large. Adam had decked Joel out with similar equipment, providing a Kevlar vest, tactical clothing and a reinforced military-grade helmet. When Joel had declined the gear, saying he preferred to travel light, Adam had taken no notice and insisted – he even suggested at wearing more gear due to his recently stitched lacerations. They had no clue what they'd find down there, after all.

Ellie had gotten off easily, still carrying a Kevlar vest, but underneath considerably lighter armour that Adam had found to fit a smaller man. It wasn't at all well-fitting, and still too large for her, but she wore it well regardless. She looked at their reflections in the shining surfaces of the operating room, and subtly loved the rugged look it gave them all.

Adam had set them all up first, and told them to wait in the operating room for him to gear-up and prep all the weapons they were going to use. When he strode through the door, he looked downright formidable.

He was clad from head to toe in worn but hardy military gear, with buffed-out shoulder pads that made his already huge build look even larger. His helmet was a dull grey in the light of the room, cast iron with an eye-slot that looked as if it were made from improvised skiing goggles. A large, blue eye was painted elegantly on the forehead of the headgear. He had a respirator built in to the helmet, meaning that unlike Joel's his was fully-faced. He slowly moved around the room, handing everyone else a gas mask and a handful of filters. She wondered why they'd need protection from spores if they were all already infected.

"Not spores." Adam replied, his voice slightly muffled by the helmet but still audible. "Worse than that. The plant'll be abundant with toxic gasses and other fun stuff given off by the reactor. It can kill you just as easily."

He did another loop of the room, handing everyone a small, black device that looked like a radio. He told them how to turn it on, and Ellie flicked the switch upwards. The small black rectangle ticked and clicked slightly every few seconds.

"What is it?" She asked, turning it over in her hands and examining the exterior. Everyone else had already fastened it firmly to their lapels.

"It's a Geiger Counter." Joel said, turning towards Adam with a concerned look on his face. "We expecting radiation?"

"No, but it's a good precaution. That infected didn't look naturally developed. I've seen similar occurrences in mutations; and anyway, it doesn't hurt to have one handy."

"How does it work?" Ellie inquired, still overly curious.

Surprsingly, Evelynn was the one who answered. She walked over, took it in her hand, and fastened it securely onto Ellie's lapel.

"It ticks whenever there is radiation. What we're hearing now is normal; everything on the planet gives it off. The time to be concerned is when it starts ticking a whole lot more, like a firecracker."

"Okay." The girl replied, meeting the woman's eyes.

"If that happens, run. Get out of that area as quickly as possible. And whatever goes down, don't take that off."

"Gotcha."

The woman smiled and stood, and then moved back over to her lover. She saw Joel shoot her an odd look – was it jealously, or hostility?

Before she could discern the difference, Adam had begun handing out the weapons he had prepped earlier. The men carried the most firepower; Adam took his rifle, along with a long, British army camouflaged and silenced carbine, while Joel took the light machine-gun and a sinister looking 12 gauge combat shotgun. Evelynn had opted for a lighter choice, wielding a .22 Hunting Rifle, and Ellie was given an SMG that fit snugly into her hands.

Adam walked over to her, drew his Magnum from his belt, and turned it around in his hands, offering her the hilt.

"You've done a better job with this in a week than I've done in a decade." He gestured it towards her, and she saw his eyes smile at her out the visor in his helmet. "Consider it yours."

"Whoa, no way… are you sure?"

"Positive." She once again took in the beauty of the glistening metal as Adam made final checks before they headed out.

The checks in question took around twenty minutes, and were simple things – turning the electricity off, handing out radios, and making sure everyone was mentally ready for whatever may await them. In a last-minute thought, Adam ran quickly back into his room, and emerged having slightly altered his carbine – a large, underslung rail now held a black cylinder and a complex mechanism on the underside of the gun. When she inquired its purpose, he simply replied with a grin and said "fireworks," leaving her baffled at what it may be.

They walked together out of the airlock doors, and the two men sealed them tightly and moved the cabinets back in front to obscure the deep-green metal of the inlaid entryway. Joel was moving surprisingly easily giving his injuries, and Ellie couldn't get past the thought that maybe Evelynn's satirical ramblings had some truth to them.

Before they moved out of the dilapidated room that housed the entrance, Adam opened a fuse-box and flicked a majority of the breakers, bathing the interior of the cave in a thick darkness. Everything was still and silent, the only sounds being the falling of feet and the whistle of the autumn breeze down the cave mouth. They strode up the cavernous opening together in a tightly-knit squad, with Adam taking point and the others tagging behind. Joel and Ellie were both as confident in their step as he was, but Evelynn was having a harder time, constantly off-balance and tripping on her boots. It wouldn't have bothered Ellie if she hadn't been wearing thirty pounds less gear than Adam or Joel were.

Upon emerging, the day was in full swing. The sun was high in the sky – signalling midday – and the air was pleasant and cool to the touch. They skirted around the front of the cave, slinking through long grasses and flowers, and pulled away the camouflage netting to expose the black coupe to the sunlight. They piled in together, and Adam took driver, with Joel in shotgun and the two girls in the back. The car started gently and purred, seemingly unaffected by the large amount of gas they'd used returning up here. She made the assumption it had bonus tanks as it rolled almost silently out of the cave and onto the meadow. Evelynn quickly jumped out, lowered the netting, and returned into her seat before Adam swung the vehicle around and began down the dirt track.

They reached the B-road in a few minutes, and pulled right onto the highway. The inhabitants remained silent, as people often were before going somewhere they believed to be dangerous. Ellie had time to escape from reality and reminisce, but the thoughts simply wouldn't come. She was in constant turmoil at the situation she was faced with; all three of her friends – the only adults she had ever truly trusted – were slowly turning into mindless lumps of fungus, despite their nonsensical beliefs that they weren't. She felt an overwhelming selfishness that they would die if she didn't help them, but was also uncharacteristically frightened at the realisation that she would die if she did. In both outcomes, she didn't get what she wanted.

The pines were still shooting up out of the ground around them, casting long and spear-like shadows upon each other and the ground around them. The scenery seemed to engage both Joel and Evelynn in an unbreakable vice, both of them sitting there in dead silence, with no inclination to talk. She felt like a good pun was needed, but held back for a reason she couldn't fathom.

The rolled down the road, coming across nothing bar a burned-out barn and a few cars piled directly in their path. Instead of driving around them, the men got out to push them into the ditches on either side, and then retook their places in the vehicle. She felt her tension rising as she saw the cooling towers of the plant become visible above the treeline. She stared at them for a few moments, registering that something was amiss. By the time they had drawn close enough for her suspicions to be confirmed, Adam had already noticed the same thing. He slowed the car considerably, and gestured upwards to the cooling towers.

"The writing that was left for me isn't there, and neither is the symbol." The words contained lashings of caution.

"You mean it's been removed?" Evelynn inquired.

"Cleaned off, I imagine." He turned his head back to the road, and continued with conviction. "And I think I know who did it. Filters in, people, and be alert. I think they're here."

Evelynn clipped a filter into both her gas mask and Ellie's, while Joel did the same. Evelynn helped her with hers, and she saw Joel look disapprovingly in the rear-view mirror; the same look he'd given to Evelynn when she'd informed Ellie on the Geiger counter.

They rolled almost at walking speed on approach to the plant, and to her surprise cut left, bypassing the entrance entirely. Adam pulled up around ten feet shy of a gaping hole in the chain-link, where she guessed the runners had piled through when they'd been alerted the day before. Sure enough, she got out the car and turned north to see Adam's rocky sniper spot protruding from the cliff-face around a kilometre away. In accordance to this, she turned the opposite way and scanned the compound for the gargantuan infected's hulking corpse. To her surprise, she saw nothing; not even blood to signify where the corpse had fallen. She told Adam, and he only replied with a command.

"Safeties off."

She flicked a tiny switch on the side of her SMG from SAFETY to LIVE.

They approached the compound as a group, and deftly moved through the human-sized gap in the fencing to emerge into the cracked concrete courtyard of the plant. To her left, the bunkhouses stood empty, which unnerved her; to her right, the cooling towers soared upwards, obscuring the blueness of the sky.

Everyone was silent as they moved through the complex, apart from the dull ticking of everyone's Geiger counters. The ticking had become livelier, and Ellie had voiced this, only to be assured that it was nothing to be concerned about and that she'd know if it got to dangerous levels. Their first order was to split up and check the bunkrooms for anything of usage they might find. Adam went with Evelynn, and she with Joel – before they split, they agreed to a rule of silence. Adam had his carbine, and he handed Joel his survival knife for quiet takedowns, if nessercary. It proved to be a fruitless exercise, with the two only needing to sift through drawers and cabinets, digging up miscellaneous items of little importance.

"Have you found anything?" She hollered to Joel, still conscious of any possible infected in the vicinity.

"Nope." Came her reply a few seconds later, muffled by the wall that separated them. "There's clothes and equipment, but there ain't a lot else."

She continued digging through the room in silence, now beginning to tackle the large assortment of clothes that were burying an old, mouldy and yellowed mattress that had half fallen off of the bed it had been assigned to all those years ago.

As she peeled away rotting shirts and trousers, she thought about the people who may have worked here. What were they like? How old were they, and why were they here? Did they have families, and did those families survive the onslaught? Did they?

Her pondering was interrupted by the soft hiss of two silenced gunshots from the bunkroom opposite them; the one that directly adjoined to the facility underneath the two soaring cooling towers. Joel had appeared in the doorway to the room, obscuring her view to the window and the exterior compound.

"Did you hear that?" She asked, at alert.

"Yeah." Joel added casually, and slipped Adam's survival knife back into its sheath, the end covered in a viscous crimson liquid. "There're a few runners dotted around the compound; ones that weren't spooked by the gunshots. Ain't nothing to worry about."

"I'm more concerned about this shitty plant." The ticking of her Geiger meter had continued to climb. It had levelled out at a medium intensity a few minutes ago, but this place made her skin crawl, on both a physical and psychological level. Joel didn't seem fazed by it; or maybe she was just imagining things.

"Have you heard from the others?" She asked, returning to peeling damp and moss-covered clothes off of the rotting mattress. To her annoyance, she found shortly after arriving that she'd wound up with the one faulty radio.

"No, nothing." He added, getting on his knees and helping her as he always did. "I'm guessing they've found about as much as we have."

That statement could not have come at a more ironic time if they'd tried. Upon finishing his sentence, Joel scooped up a mass of t-shirts to reveal the bloody hand of a corpse protruding out the underside of the toppled mattress.

"Step back." He said forcibly, and she did as she was told. He wrapped his huge hands around the corners, and heaved the rotting bed-cushion away from the decidedly not decomposing corpse. He threw the mattress to the left, sending it to land softly against the plasterboard wall with a dull thud. Kneeling closely to the body, he went in for a closer inspection.

At face value, it could be anyone, or anything, but there were two aspects that set this corpse aside from others.

"This fella died recently." Joel began, carefully gripping the wrist that had been protruding and raising it slightly. Both the joint of the wrist and the elbow moved with ease.

"His body ain't locked up, meaning he can't have been dead more than an hour. Also, look at his face. See anything weird?"

Upon examining, she did notice something amiss. Clickers and other older infected were easy to identify, and newer ones were essentially just human corpses with a noticeable orange tint to their skin tone. This corpse was deathly white, like crisp snow, or the floor of Evelynn's operating room.

"Holy shit." She said, leaning down next to Joel. "He wasn't infected."

"No, he wasn't. He was killed."

He plucked the radio out of his pocket, and gently pushed down a small black button on the side of the device.

"Adam, you there?"

"_Copy." _Came the crackly reply, shortly afterward._ "What is it, Joel?"_

_"_We've got a stiff."

A strange noise reverberated briefly down the line, reminiscent of a sigh.

"_Yeah, we've got some too. Regular people, right?"_

"Right."

_"Shit. Alright… meet us in the bunkroom across from you. Looks like there's an entrance here."_

Without further hesitation, the two stood and left the room they were in, proceeding back down the hallway to the exit a few meters away. As she glanced back, Ellie saw the corpse of the infected that Joel had bloodied his knife on.

They broke out into the afternoon sunlight to find Adam and Evelynn leaning up against the side of the bunkhouse they'd explored. Evelynn was exactly the same as they had left her, although she looked rather flustered, and Adam's visor was splattered with blood. As they approached, he wiped it off of the reinforced plastic and moved to meet them. He was about to speak when the tactical watch that he was wearing beeped dully.

"Time for your shots, kids."

The three adults each drew a syringe from Adam's backpack, filled with the same vicious transparent liquid, and injected it straight into the thickest vein in their arms. They each reacted in different manners to the stuff – Evelynn gave it no second thought, Joel looked moderately uncomfortable, and Adam swayed slightly as he stood, almost delirious from the medication. When he was asked about his well-being, he simply shrugged the question off with a gruff "I'm fine", and the group made their way into the bunkhouse together. It was an identical clone of the one she and Joel had ventured into, excluding one anomaly – a large black turnstile door that was inlaid into a solid concrete wall to their right. The words 'WARNING – BIOHAZARD' were written on a black and yellow strip above the entry, their letters having faded almost to non-existence over time. An ominous white spray-paint skull and crossbones hung on the face of the door.

Her Geiger counter flickered gently against her chest.

"Here it is." Adam issued, his voice swimming in apprehension. "There isn't any telling what we'll find in there, but presume combat. Everyone get ready. Joel, help me pop this thing open."

The two burly, geared men moved to the door together, heaving and straining on the black metallic turnstile that had rusted into place over the years. With enough power put in, the wheel gave way, and the bolt clanged loudly back into the door. The four piled inwards, immediately greeted by a vast expanse as a huge room exploded out before them, in complete contrast to the black bunkrooms they'd been in. Before she could take another step, the Geiger counter became slightly livelier, and a foul smell hit her strongly.

"Ew, what the fuck is that?"

"Gas from the reactors!" Evelynn said, her voice raised. She whipped her mask from her backpack and slid it down over her face. "Masks on, now!"

They all bore the constricting plastic implements and listened to each other's breathing, exaggerated by the mechanisms that filtered the air that was breathable into their noses. They pushed through the building as a tight squad, descending a flight of stairs in single-file and then reforming at the bottom. This time, Joel had taken point, with Adam in the rear – both men had their guns primed and raised, while Evelynn strode about the atrium, seemingly at ease. Ellie kept her right hand wrapped around the hilt of Adam's .44, just in case, the SMG slung over her shoulder.

They meandered slowly through the vast warehouse underneath the first tower, observing the mass of worn and corroding computers that encircled a large hole beneath the bottom of the concrete spire. At one point, she guessed they may have been used by hundreds of normal people, regulating the pressures and energy outputs of the reactors. The pit descended at least fifty meters, and she could hear a dull pulsing sound from the dark depths. As the approached the edge and leaned her hands cautiously on the railings, her Geiger counter kicked up another step. She shuddered at the thought of having to work in such close proximity to such a deadly thing on a daily basis – to her, it seemed like elongated suicide.

"Ellie." She heard Joel's protective tones issue from behind her. "Get away from there, kiddo. It's not what we're here for."

She chose not to respond, simply returning to his side. They were just behind Adam, who was fiddling with one of the worn-out monitors that had lived on a rotting desk for the last two decades. She glanced further forwards, and saw Evelynn ascending another set of stairs that led into a peculiar hexagon-shaped viewing booth that sprouted from the room. She eased the rusted metal door open with a quiet screech, and slipped inside. She lost sight of the black-haired woman, until her voice came over the intercom, echoing softly around the massive room.

"Adam, I found something."

"Evelynn?" He asked, placing his hand to his radio and talking though his helmet into the microphone. "What are you doing?"

She didn't reply, the intercom instead being dominated by another voice that she didn't recognise. The message it carried bounced around the room, overwhelming the dull buzzing of whatever was down the gigantic pit behind them.

_"So we've been holed up in this shithole for a week, waiting for something... anything, from the Watcher. If he's in this area at all, then he sure as hell isn't interested in us. Anyway, we had a scare from the red-rings down at the town again. Amber says that if the bastards want that town, they need the plant first. Hell, if they want it, the can come and fucking-"_

There was a massive crash as concrete and metal were torn out of the walls. The glass panels of the hexagonal office exploded outward suddenly, and a hulking figure stood in the gigantic crevice it'd made. A piercing, blood-curdling roar tore through the offices, eliminating any other noise, and the beast jumped down, smacking into the cold steel of the floor. Another one of the mutated behemoth infected had arrived for dinner.

"_Evelynn_!" Adam shouted, seemingly careless towards the massive infected lumbering towards him. The beast began to charge, and she saw Joel crash into the side of the Scotsman, sending them both reeling past desks and computers, narrowly avoiding the trajectory of the grotesque hulk. They were too slow to get back off the floor, and the infected rounded on them, trudging fiercely to where they both struggled underneath the weight of their gear. Without hesitation, Ellie climbed the nearest desk and emptied the contents of the Magnum into the beast's back. It turned, enraged, and crashed through furniture towards her. As it ran, it was pursued by Evelynn who was sprinting towards them both over the catwalks hanging from the ceiling.

Ellie ducked and weaved around tables, giving the pulsating behemoth a difficult pursuit. She deftly loaded another six shots into the chamber of the revolver, and continued on her escape course. She was about to vault over another desk when one of the monitors crashed into her backpack, sending her sprawling to the floor.

Before she knew it, the beast was on top of her, rearing back one of its razor-sharp fungal arms to finish her off.

She looked upwards and screamed in terror to see Evelynn leap over the railing of a catwalk and land on the creature's back, retaining a grip in its flesh by wedging a thick combat knife in the pocket just between its shoulder blades. She yanked it out, getting a few vicious stabs in before the beast shook its shoulders and flung her off, sending her cascading across the room to land hard on a desk a good ten meters away.

The beast lowered itself onto Ellie again, and raised its arm for the final strike. The last noises she would hear were its ragged breathing and the sound of her Geiger counter going ballistic.

Suddenly, her situation changed, almost as if it were divine intervention.

Her hearing was deafened as an Anti-Materiel round tore through the air a hair's width away from her face, ripping out the majority of the beast's fungal plume. It tumbled off of Ellie, and was about to stand up, only to be forced back to the ground by a volley of silenced bullets that punched tiny holes into its bloated flesh. She turned to see Adam walk up to the wounded monster, flick a switch on the underside of his carbine, and squeeze a small trigger with his gloved hand.

A swirling stream of red, orange and yellow blossomed out of the under-barrel attachment, coating the beast in garments made of rippling colours. The heat was immense, and she felt sweat streaming in rivulets underneath her mask. The creature writhed and squirmed, screeching the entire time, until it eventually collapsed to the floor, black and smouldering. The smell it gave off was not filtered by the mask, and was nigh on unbearable. A black cylinder popped out the side of the mechanism with a dull ping, and the Scotsman spoke.

"Fireworks." She heard.

Strong hands wound their way under her shoulder blades, and she found herself on her feet, a man wearing a gas mask looking into her eyes through the foggy plastic eyelets.

"You okay, kiddo?" The voice asked. She could barely comprehend the speech, her head still ringing at how closely the gigantic bullet had flown by her face. As her vision settled, she saw it was Joel in front of her. She hugged him tightly, and noticed the green-and-yellow patterned sniper rifle slung over his back. Joel must've picked up the first weapon available when he and Adam had been downed, and immediately rushed over to save her.

She drew out of the hug, and nestled her hand in his. The two began walking over to the Watcher, who was carefully helping his mistress off of the desk she'd suddenly found herself thrown into. They left the ember-covered corpse in the dust, its scorched flesh still smoking.

"Ah, fuck…" The woman cursed, getting up with a degree of pain. She was alive, but her walk had gained a limp. The Watcher helped her down, and she threw her arm over his shoulder, unable to walk on her leg.

Joel approached with Ellie, and spoke to them bluntly.

"I don't know what the hell that was, but what say we quit this place before another turns up?"

"I agree." Adam said, surprising Ellie with his eagerness to leave.

"Did you get what you came for?" She asked, still confused.

"That and more." He said, carrying his limping lover next to him and moving back towards the flight of stairs they'd entered from. "Did you hear your Geiger counter when that thing was near you? It almost broke the fucking thing."

"I know." She uttered following them, her hand grasping the small black rectangle fastened to her lapel.

"That… that fucking thing…" Evelynn began, still panting from her endeavour. "… was not a natural occurrence. Someone's been playing god, here."

"I'd gathered." Adam countered, not in the slightest bit winded from his crashing fall with Joel. "And, if Amber's running the show in that town, we've gotta make sure it's still in one piece."

"Adam," Evelynn started, a discerning tone in her voice. You heard the audio. '_If they want the town, they need the plant._ Looks to me like they have the fucking plant!"

"Had." Adam retorted. "I doubt they got on too well with Mr Giggles back there. His arms were covered in blood that wasn't any of ours."

Joel cocked the machine gun, and brought it into his arms, ready and alert for anything else to come.

"Then how's about we bug out before we find its creators, or worse?"

"My… my sentiments exactly." The black-haired woman responded.

They moved considerably faster than before, scaling the staircase and easing out of the doorway in under a minute. They locked it firmly behind them, the bolt slamming the shut, and made their way out into the courtyard. Evening had set in by now, and the pinkish orange sky was a welcome sight compared to the dingy blue-black steel that had covered the ceiling of the immense office. They were halfway across the compound and almost back to the car when a small black cylinder landed at their feet.

The world was suddenly white, and a piercing, high-pitched beeping was all that could be heard. Ellie didn't even remember falling onto her back until the colours returned and she found herself staring up at the orange and pink-streaked canvas that was the evening sky.

She leaned upwards on her elbow to see that the population of the courtyard had vastly increased. In front of her, nestled by the side of the facility, was a black armoured van with a red circle emblazoned on the back doors. She spiralled her head around to see that they had been surrounded by men dressed in urban-camo, military-grade gear, all bearing the same marking on their chests. Joel was standing behind her, his machine gun and rifle on the floor and his hands behind his head. He shot her a glare that said '_don't try anything'. _To her west, she saw a standoff.

Adam was standing in a marksman's position, breathing heavily through the respirator of his helmet. Two red-rings lay dead beside him. He had his carbine trained at the head of another who was wearing a balaclava, and standing up tall with his hand on Evelynn's left shoulder. The woman was standing upright, her onyx-black hair a mess, tears and red marks scoring her face. Every now and again, she shuddered under his touch. Whether she was crying due to her situation or the pain in her leg, Ellie couldn't tell. A single, perfect red circle was hovering on the elder woman's forehead, bringing on a whole new man-made sense of terror.

"Let her go." The Scotsman growled, his voice filled with fury.

"Why would I do that, Watcher?" The balaclava man answered, replying with an almost mocking tone.

His voice was thick with the tones of a Russian.

"I wanted to see if the rumours were true." He continued, moving towards Evelynn, drawing his head closely into hers, then kissing her menacingly on the cheek and lingering there for a moment. She shuddered in fear, and Ellie could almost feel Adam's anger surging from his body.

"Hello, darling." The Russian continued in a sultry tone laced with madness. "What might your name be?"

She didn't respond. The muscles in the man's face tightened into a scowl beneath the balaclava.

"What is your fucking name?" He screamed, right in her ear, displaying a sudden change of personality at the silence he'd been given.

"E-Evelynn." She uttered timidly, a fresh set of tears rolling down her face.

"Evelynn." He articulated, rolling the name around in his mouth and suddenly reverting back to the evil flirt he had been before his outburst. "Evelynn." He said again with lustful courtesy, then continuing.

"Now, my darling, I'm going to need your assistance. You see, your lovely friend over there is most intent on force-feeding me a few bullets." She saw him pout patronisingly, like he was treating the situation as a game. "But, I'm afraid I'm not particularly hungry. Well, at least not as hungry as my little pet in the power plant, per se. Mutation does wonderful things, don't you agree? I'm sure that little town to the south will love to cater for... say... five of them?"

The Watcher kept his carbine trained on the man's covered face. At this distance, missing was impossible.

"However, if your lovely companion is truly overwhelmed and wants to satisfy my hunger and save the day, I'll make sure to do the same for you, if you catch my meaning." He traced his finger around the flickering red circle on her forehead, and Evelynn shuddered again.

"What… what do you want?" Evelynn managed, stuttering slightly.

The man mocked surprise, and behaved in a manner similar to a court jester. It was obvious to Ellie that he had a fair few people bouncing around in his skull, and none of them particularly pleasant company.

"Why, my dear, I only want confirmation."

He turned to face Adam, and his tone changed completely, redisplaying his bipolar nature.

"There are the terms. Now, lower your guns and take of your helmet, or I'll fill your bitch with lead."

Adam stood there, transfixed on the target in front of him. A lifetime seemed to pass, the tension rising with every millisecond. Eventually, the veteran gave in and threw his carbine to the ground at his feet. One of the red-ringed men moved up and scooped it out from under him.

He placed a gloved hand under the rim of his helmet, and pulled it away from his head. His sweat-soaked auburn mop fell around his face, splattering his forehead with damp. His green eyes were bloodshot with fury.

The balaclava man cackled and pointed at him, laughing maniacally. When he'd had his fill of comedy, he peeled the balaclava from his own face, and revealed a bald head… along with the unmistakable facial scarring of the man who'd been removed from the picture of Adam's squad. The realisation suddenly hit her.

"Pyotr." The word dripped from the Watcher's mouth like poison.

"Adam! Oh my, it's been… _such_ a long time! Of course, it could've been as short of a time as I wanted. You're very open with where you tell your minions to leave their callsigns." He made a sound similar to a tut, like a scolding mother. "Naughty boy."

Adam stood there in silence, carving holes into the man with the intensity of his stare.

"Now, Mr Cassel, I'm going to lay down some ground rules, if you'll oblige me."

He strode past Evelynn, who was stills standing stock still with the red dot trained on her skull.

He got so close to Adam that she thought the Scotsman was going to kill him then and there.

"Offhand, I'm very disappointed you managed to kill Krass. It's such a shame - he was my favourite idiot of them all." The lunatic feigned sadness. "You shouldn't hurt my operations like that, Watcher." He switched personalities, the aggressive side ploughing forward once more.

"_Ever." _The word was spoke with an immense and sudden hatred. "If I hear of a single death or sabotage… I'll take her, carve her up, and mount her on a pole." He smiled villainously in Adam's face. "Ring any bells, Watcher?"

The Scotsman said nothing, and spat at his feet.

"I thought you'd like that." He chuckled, and backed away. "At least I know when I've worn out my welcome. Fare thee well, сука." He rounded Evelynn again on his way back to the armoured truck, and slapped her rump, laughing hysterically like an immature child. The vehicle roared into action, and he was in the process of climbing in with his soldiers, when he doubled back, a new manipulative thought forming inside his crazed skull.

"Actually," He began, "I need an investment to insure your co-operation." He gestured towards Joel. "Bring the dog."

The soldier behind Joel moved forward, and pressed the barrel of the gun he was wielding into the small of his back. He issued a command, but it was too muffled by his ballistics helmet to be audible. She saw Joel glance over to her, and the look he gave told her everything she needed to know.

"Fuck this." Joel growled, sharply spinning around on the soldier. He grabbed the weapon the red-ring was carrying, deftly rotated it, and peppered the man full of bullets in mere milliseconds. She heard the clicking of a bolt to her right, and she hastily raised the Magnum that was still in her left hand, hidden under her jacket. She had lost track of the SMG she had been carrying when the beast had toppled her.

She followed the laser sight to its source, and fired. The large bullet flew quickly, easily tearing through the sniper's head, and exploding out the other side in a mist of crimson. He had been positioned poorly, not ten meters away from them, behind a tree. The mediocre cover had barely concealed him, and she saw the laser sight fall to the floor along with the rifle it was attached to.

At the sound of the gunshots, Evelynn hit the deck, and Adam threw himself into cover by the bunkhouses. Joel scooped the LMG off of the ground, and proceeded to fill the soldiers that weren't near the van full of high-calibre holes. The three by the truck returned fire as Pyotr jumped in, and then followed suit after him. She loosed another three rounds at the truck, one flying through the gap in the closing doors and striking the lunatic just below the knee. She saw him stumble, and almost fall out the back of the van as it accelerated, only to be pulled in by one of his soldiers.

The last thing she witnessed before the doors slammed shut fully was the rage on his morbidly scarred face as he made eye contact with her. The truck swung around the corner, and pulled away. She was left in an eerie and unnatural silence, save for the heavy breathing and the dull flickering of the Geiger counter on her lapel.


	10. Chapter 10 - An Old Friend

"Right, let's have a wee look - ah, shit… I think that's going to complicate things."

Next to Adam, underneath the truck, thick and shining, lay a deep pool of viscous black liquid. To the right of his prone body, a few feet away, dampening the grass growing through the cracks in the concrete was another pool of liquid, this time transparent and slowly evaporating. Bullet holes populated the front of the vehicle, and created grim, polka-dot-like patterns across the matte black surface.

The man, scruffy and fatigued from the events unfolded, shimmied out from underneath the wounded chassis of the car.

"They peppered the car before they left, smart bastards." He stood, rising to his full height, breathing deeply, continuing. "They nailed both the oil and water tanks. We're not getting anywhere without them." A sigh shook his body as he paced backwards, towards them. "At least we can be thankful none of them struck the gas line."

"Thing's would've gotten a lot warmer." The grizzled alpha-male survivor next to the veteran said. He turned, with a face composed for business. "What're you intending to do?"

The Watcher paused, staring at the ruined vehicle, wallowing, almost inhabiting in his disappointment and fear. He'd been playing a game of craps with new gamblers, and not noticed the older, wiser shooter return from the rear. His gaze turned north, and hung over the hills. He breathed deeply, visualised a plan, and issued it.

"The armoured car exited out of the gate to the west, then turned south, correct?"

"Right, to the south." Joel responded, brooding, still riled from the engagement.

"Okay." The veteran inside him crept past the compassionate side, and took the helm.

"We can't return to base, not with a high-priority hostile this close. Might be he already knows it's there."

"Gotcha. So what?"

"So," The auburn haired veteran continued, gesturing to the forest behind him, "I say we go south-east."

"You wanna try our luck in that two-bit town?"

"Two-bit is better than no bit." He countered, lowering his voice as not to disturb the women, that were seeing to each other's wounds, resting and recuperating, perched on the edge of a concrete jersey barrier a few meters away. "If Amber's running the show, we'd be welcome. More than welcome."

"Who exactly is this 'Amber' character?"

"One of the good guys, Joel. She's ex US Marines. Black market dealer after shit went south, when the Military still held sway over most of the country. She made the right choice and bugged out a few years after, going AWOL. After that, she had a few run-ins with hunters. That's how we met. Eventually she settled for the quiet life and set up a township after our business was concluded. Last I heard, her town got sacked and she was missing, and that was five years ago."

Joel huffed, surprised that so many people took it upon themselves not only to survive, but to sacrifice for others survival and even their comfort. It all seemed to extravagant to him. Perhaps he'd just gotten used to his life as a wandering nomad.

"Seems like settin' up towns is the in-thing at the moment, eh?"

Adam shrugged. "I don't know. Never found the appeal to it, myself. Too many risks. It's better to keep moving."

"I can vouch for that." Joel replied, recalling his excessive experience in that regard. He gestured over to the injured and frightened black-haired woman, who ironically had taken the position of the child as the two women patched themselves up. She was shivering, still in shock from her brush with death.

"What are you gonna do with her?"

The scotsman sighed, unsure of his plans. "I don't know. It's just our luck that this happened on her first trip out in a long time, poor girl. She's never going to want to leave again."

"She more of a homely type?"

"Not necessarily." He glanced over at her, her face still red from crying. "Where we have strength, she has brains. That's all."

"Right." Joel countered, wiping the thick red blood off of the survival knife Adam had lent him, then sliding it back into the sheath, shining, creating a small screech as it slipped into the leather holster. He continued.

"Still don't address our logistical problem, though."

"We're going to have to walk. The car isn't going anywhere without a new oil tank."

"She ain't walking 30 miles on that leg."

"I know. I could hear the bones grinding as I carried her out." He suddenly flushed over with anger. "Pyotr, that fuck. He made her stand on it the entire time."

"She didn't fall, or scream. She's got grit."

"I know." He smiled dully to himself. "She's tougher than she looks."

They glanced back over to the jersey barrier again, and saw Ellie hoisting up the left leg of Evelynn's khakis to examine the injury inflicted on her by the behemoth infected. At a distance, they saw the leg of the pants were matted with a damp crimson, sticky and thick, masking what turned out to be a large laceration in her calf where the bone had penetrated the flesh. Luckily, it hadn't come completely out of the leg, only severing the skin. At a glance, the could tell that the bone had snapped completely.

As Ellie rolled the leg of the pants upwards, Evelynn heaved and shouted in agony. The adrenaline that had dulled the pain for their escape after the fight had long subsided, and she almost passed out due to the immense pain. Adam was roused by her cry, and immediately left Joel to tend to her. He sauntered over afterward, dwelling on the events that had unfolded. He'd killed another two men today, and only added to the gigantic list he'd compiled over the years. That wasn't what burdened him, though; his mind was heavy with the fact that Ellie had been forced to kill as well.

Adam had knelt down next to Evelynn, and removed his hiking pack. Out of which he withdrew both his leather satchel, and a red, surprisingly pristine, travel-size first aid kit. He carefully opened the zip, conservatively opening the pack as to not damage the contents. He sifted around for a while, eventually drawing out a spiel of bandages, a tube of cream labelled 'ANTI-SEPTIC', and a white-clean, fraying rag. Upon questioning what the rag was for, Ellie was met with a response that said "Noise management." Evelynn looked at her, her blue eyes cowering in realisation. There were no painkillers to be seen.

"All right, Evie, just... just be strong for me, okay?"

Evelynn didn't reply; Adam followed up by unwinding some of the bandage and prepping the thick tube of antiseptic cream.

He gestured to the two of them.

"Ellie, Joel. Take a look around, see if you can find me some pieces of wood. Preferably thin."

"Like a two-by-four?" Ellie queried.

"Yeah, just like that. Try and find a few of them."

"Alright." Joel said, moving off slowly. "C'mon, kiddo."

Ellie trailed slowly behind him, leaving the Watcher to tend to his mistress.

They walked for a few minutes, eventually coming across a garage-looking structure on the limits of the compound. Luckily enough, the runners that may've been present a few hours previously had all moved off, vainly chasing after the loud thrum of the large-engined armoured car as it sped off, believing they could catch it and chow down on its inhabitants. The fauna of the area had overgrown the overwhelming majority of the power plant, with vines and crawlers now visible, casting green lines over the faded grey of the concrete cooling towers. At the extreme edges of the facility, the Geiger counter was less active, flickering every now and again to remind her where they were. A medium sized pine tree penetrated the concrete roof of the garage, jutting out the top and casting a long, pleasant shadow over the dirt-covered concrete courtyard they'd traversed.

Joel moved over to the corrugated iron door, rusted shut, tarnished a dull red-brown, and managed to raise it just high enough to slip his fingers underneath. He heaved, the thick, strong muscles in his back tensing, visible through the sweat-stained shirt that clung to his body. With enough force, the door shifted, screeching as rust was chewed up in the hinges of the door. It raised slightly, just enough for a person to squeeze through, before there was a loud clang, and it stuck fast in its place.

"That'll about do it. Under we go."

She went prone, then shuffled gently forward and entered the darkness of the storage room. In the far wall, a single window stood, and the afternoon sun created an iridescent sheen on the particles of dust that hung loosely in the air. The room was slightly lit, and the faint outlines of miscellaneous maintenance items met her eyes.

"Alright. There's gotta be some wood in here somewhere. Let's look around."

The two sifted through shelves and boxes, searching for anything that fit Adam's description. The work was mundane, and incredibly boring - eventually, Ellie couldn't keep her thoughts to herself any longer.

"Why are we still with these people?"

Joel leaned up. "What?" He asked.

She turned to meet his gaze. "Why are we still here?"

"You mean, why ain't we left them yet?"

"Yeah."

Joel pondered for a moment, then continued.

"Are you gettin' attached to them?"

She looked down at the floor, her resolve wavered at how quickly he'd calculated her feelings.

"They're good people, Joel." She uttered.

"Sure." He replied, moving over to her, kneeling, and placing his hand on her shoulder. "They are good people, I give you that. But the truth is that all good people go bad when they got the right motivation. Catch my drift?"

She chose not to reply, playing the ignorant girl card, hoping he wasn't getting at what she thought he was. He elaborated for her.

"The point is, we're the only two that matter. Now, they've shown us kindness, they saved us, fed us and healed us, and I'm sure grateful for that, but... She's a scientist, and he's obsessed with killing bandits. I've been in this game too long, Ellie. If things go south... well, when things go south... we leave. We stay for however long it suits us, then we leave."

"Just like Tommy's?" She asked defiantly.

"Just like Tommy's." He confirmed. She wasn't sure whether he'd picked up on her arguing of his decision. She let it slide, reasoning that now was not the time to discuss their motives.

The radio on Joel's lapel cracked into life, issuing a low-quality voice into the space around them.

"_Joel, you there?"_

_"_Yeah, here." He responded.

"_Dig anything up?"_

"Still looking."

"_Alright. Just make it quick; Evelynn isn't getting any better by waiting."_

The radio lay silent, the line disconnected. Joel breathed in slowly, and let out a sigh.

"Alright." He began. "Keep looking."

Another few minutes rolled past, yielding no results. Eventually, her hand traced around a large, thin and metallic rectangle, almost like the lid to a long box, or something in that regard. She curled her fingers around the exposed top, lifted the item, and stuck her head into the gap in the shelf to gain a closer look. Underneath were another three, equal in size and thickness.

She picked them up gently, nestling them in her gloved hands, and made her way back over to Joel. She stopped his busy searching with a light touch to his back, and showed him the items. He nodded, touched the radio on his label, and spoke.

"On our way back now."

No reply came. They walked in a duo together, eventually coming to a stop and shimmying back underneath the door into the evening light. They wandered gently around the compound, drinking in the sights of the sky and fauna, the cool air on their faces, Geiger counters ticking lightly. They arrived back at the jersey barrier to find Evelynn wearing Adam's military jacket, the two huddling for warmth, Evenlynn's injured leg still exposed. Adam stood, and made his way over to them.

"You're back. Find anything?"

"Here." Ellie offered him the long, thin rectangles of metal.

His face lit up at the sight of something adequate. "Perfect."

He moved back around to Evelynn, and cringing, she raised her injured leg. Joel and Ellie moved toward the two, spectating.

"Alright, Evie... I've got to-"

"I know." She spluttered, desperately. "I know what you have to do. Science major, remember? Gimme the rag, please."

Joel lifted the rag, handed it to Adam, who handed it to Evelynn. She took it in her right hand and stuffed it in her mouth. Hesitantly, she nodded at the scotsman. He placed some of the white cream onto his hand, and gently touched it to her laceration.

She tensed, her face contorted with pain, a muffled scream quietly penetrating the rag in her mouth. She bit down on the fabric, her whole body tight as Adam gently worked the antiseptic into her wound. When he finished, he bound the wound tightly with the spiel of bandage, placed the metal rectangles around her leg, bracing it, and wrapped another layer around, lashing the braces to the injury. After a few more moments of recovery, He slipped a muscular arm underneath hers, and hoisted her up onto her feet. She stood fine on her right foot, and gently placed her left on the ground. The splint worked, and she could lightly stand on it without experiencing too much pain.

"Her leg is pretty serious." Adam said, removing the rag from her mouth and tossing it aside. "She's going to need rest and morphine to recover properly."

"We ain't going to have any medical attention for a while." Joel stated.

"I know." He replied, moving forward with his limping spouse clutching to his burly shoulders. "Our best bet is that town the recording in the plant discussed."

"Fuck, seriously?" Evelynn asked between heavy breaths. "That's nearly thirty miles away... why can't we go to the mine?"

"You know why." Adam responded. She looked at him in distaste, but nodded regardlessly.

"So, we're walking?" Ellie enquired, remembering the pearlescent pools of liquid beneath the bullet-riddled coupe.

"We're walking." Joel confirmed. He moved up to the injured woman, and supported her other side. Ellie moved back over to the jersey barrier and scooped up the 22 Hunting Rifle that Eveylnn had left strewn over the concrete. The men would be busy carrying her - they needed someone to take point. For the first time in a long time, Ellie felt like the strong one of the group.

The walked together, Ellie checking around corners and sighting out the complex before the other three caught up. The facility was as good as abandoned - all that remained was the odd corpse of an infected, and the husk of a burnt-out car that drooped sadly against the concrete floor. The reached the extreme of the compound in a few minutes, and Ellie carefully cut a large swathe of the chain-link fence away with her pen knife. The sharpened and well-tempered steel slid through the rusted metal wires as easily as it had carved through the venison they'd eaten before they'd set out. Her stomach gurgled at the thought of sumptuous, cooked meat. She didn't foresee them eating again until they reached Amber's town.

Conversation was lacking on the journey; everyone was still in shock or contemplating their brush with the leader of the red-rings. Surprisingly enough to her, that man had put her more on edge than the mammoth infected had when it'd almost killed her. Dealing with him would never be a pleasant experience; she just hoped Adam was capable of knowing when to stop, so that they could avoid another meeting with the crazed bastard.

Every know and again they'd need to clamber over logs or debris in the forest, and the ambience of nature was shattered by a pained yelp from Evelynn. When the scientist wasn't in absolute agony, the forest was a beautiful and forgotten place - no one had been here since the outbreak. The grass had grown waist-high, dampening trousers and concealing obstacles, but making the walk more fun that it would've been otherwise. Wildlife was abundant, with birds, rabbits and deer being a common sight in the autumnal woods.

She pondered to herself on why the outbreak happened, as she so often had. She'd heard hundreds of stories from hundreds of people; that scientists went too far, some asteroid crashed on Earth, rabies evolved to humans, and other nonsense to that degree. She'd formulated her own opinion on the crisis shortly after she'd met Joel, as she'd seen the ruined cities, and observed what humans had done to their planet.

The human race had spread too far too quickly, with little or no effort for conservation, like a virus. They infected the Earth, sapping its resources and destroying its species, taking control and slowly killing it. In reply to this human virus, planet Earth had responded in equal context, before it was too late - Cordyceps had spread from ants, to vermin, to crops, to humans, paving the way for Mother Nature to reclaim everything she'd lost to them. Of course, some humans survived, as she had intended. Earth didn't want to destroy the human race - it just wanted them to learn a valuable lesson.

After around two hours of dismal progress, they came across a cottage in the woods, overgrown with foliage. It had originally sat in a clearing, possibly reserved as a holiday home for someone with the privilege - now it lay dormant, the clearing having consumed it on all sides. They moved gently towards it, the forest standing watch on all sides.

As they approached, she saw it'd been occupied fairly recently - some of the grass around the edges had been cut away, and one of the smaller trees had been cut away at the stump, segmented into chunks, and piled by the rear wall of the cottage. The windows were sealed with sheets of metal, and an improvised wooden deer-hunting stand stood next to the eastern wall, concealed by a woodland camouflaged net that made it blend in with the fauna.

"At... at last." She heard Evelynn murmur. The scientist had been slipping in and out of consciousness for the entire journey.

"Joel, go with Ellie. Check the place out, yeah? I've got Evie."

"Sure." Joel replied. He moved forward, comfortingly placed his hand on Ellie's back, and moved forward with her. They walked around the front of the stone cottage to the balcony, and discovered to their surprise that there was no road leading away from it; there wasn't even a track linking up to anywhere else. She understood why this place had been fortified - it made a great base, cosy and functional, hard to find, and relatively large.

They walked together up the damp wooden steps, and Joel placed his gloveless hand gently on the rusted brass doorknob. He twisted it to the left, and the door gently swung open, allowing the evening sun to cascade gently into the homely cottage.

The building itself was relatively large, but the interior was very simple - it was all one big room. There was a table sitting silently just next to the door, a pristine and ornate gas-powered lamp resting on the mahogany surface. She placed her fingers around the knob, turned it slightly, and a small naked flame filled the remaining dark spaces of the room in a warm, orange light.

On the far left-hand side were a collection of bedrolls, some better than others; one was a pre-outbreak sleeping bag manufactured professionally, one a collection of quilts and bedsheets sown together, the other three, more improvised, constructed with cobbled-together animal hides, were strewn across the floor next to them.

A large, stone hearth sat in the middle of the longest wall, charcoal sitting in its base, a mark of wood recently burned.

Joel raised his hand to the radio on his lapel and spoke clearly into it.

"All clear."

No reply followed, but his call was answered a few moments later as Adam and Evelynn struggled through the door into the cottage.

As he seated her gently on a wooden chair in the corner, and the three adults took their shots of inhibitor, Ellie used the time to look around the room. Paintings were hanging on the wall, faded but still beautiful, reflecting days long gone. There were people smiling, ornate buildings, and cityscapes; but her favourite was a panorama of a seaside resort, the crystal-blue waves lapping against perfect white-gold sand.

Her eyes moved over a nearby desk, on which lay a letter, and one of the 9mm pistols the red-ring bandits carried. The letter was folded in half, and had an eye drawn on the side that faced the ceiling.

She went to call Adam, only to be silenced when a hand moved to grasp the letter and she turned to see him standing right next to her. He picked it up in his military grade gloves, turned it over a few times, and gave her a cautious look.

"That pistol..." She began.

"Red-rings?"

"Yeah."

He walked into the centre of the room, unfolded the yellowed paper, and began reading.

"_Watcher," _He dictated. _"I recently received word that you moved back north a few years ago, seeking a safe refuge from which you could plan your attacks. Unfortunately for me, you are as hard to find as they say you are. I've heard stories of your efforts in this area, and of your newfound adversaries, the most recent of which you destroyed an outpost further south a week or so ago."_

Evelynn had tuned back in, looking him over as he read the note.

"What's that talking about?" She inquired.

Instead of responding, he turned to her and continued reading.

"_In that regard, we share a common enemy. We have tried to contact you, but our efforts have gone unanswered. We lost the electrical plant that powered our town a few days back - they were there, and they were up to something horrible. I sent five scouts up after their soldiers pushed us out, but they didn't return."_

_"_Scouts?" Evelynn inquired.

"The corpses in the bunkrooms that weren't infected." Joel interjected, putting the pieces together.

_"Therefore, I am to presume they are dead." _He continued. _"And, that I'm writing this letter so no one will read it. However, on the off chance that you stumbled across this cottage, feel free to use it to your own accord for as long as you need."_

"Shit, that's convenient." Ellie stated.

"Being the good guy isn't easy, but it always finds a way to reward you." Adam responded. He traced down the writing until he found where he'd left off, and then proceeded reading the message.

_"All I can say to that is that I hope you don't use it for too long. The soldiers who took our plant did so with the knowledge it would cripple us - the town will be next, I imagine."_

The other three listened in silence, drinking in this new information.

_"Please, Watcher. If you read this, please. Help us." _He lifted his head up from the note and let the arm that held it fall to his side. The last line he was able to recite from memory.

"_Signed, an old friend."_


	11. Chapter 11 - Masquerade

The next day brought nothing to her but aching feet and sodden confidence.

They had a restless night to say the least; the weather had been inclement, wind gushing in and out of gullies, singing belligerently and refusing to be silenced, echoing, and holding her back from the deep embrace of sleep.

Two of the four vagabonds in the chalet had dropped into slumber the moment they'd hit the fabric of the sleeping mats, cascading into a dreamless rest in their bodies' vain attempt to try and recuperate some of the energy they'd lost during the extremities of the endeavour to the plant. Despite the throbbing pain that her wound was inflicting on her, the slender, black-haired, joking scientist had hardly stirred during the night, deeply breathing and snoring slightly on her inhalations. Whether her abnormally deep sleep was due to achieving a state of slumber, or just a product of agony-induced unconsciousness, Ellie couldn't decide.

She had pretended to be asleep for the majority of the night; partially in a vain hope to coax her tensed body into actually resting, but also to listen to and observe the other restless presence in the chalet. Adam had lay down onto the bedroll in the worst shape, out of chivalry for everyone else - however, the hulking scotsman had risen and moved away from the sleeping fold almost the moment everyone else had drifted off. She knew it wasn't from the discomfort of the wooden floor, or the stench of the slowly decomposing hides, but simply because he worried. The large man had silently moved across the room, and sat by his lover's bed as she slept, all night, unmoving, watching the steady rise and fall of her abdomen.

Eventually, a few hours before dawn, she got up and did the same, sitting by Joel's bedroll and leaning on him for the last few hours before daybreak. When she had approached, Adam hadn't acknowledged her; he had obviously been to engrossed in his thoughts as he gazed at the injured scientist, almost with a sense of despair in his eyes. He had removed his SAS jacket, and sat with his arms folded, the names written on his right bicep clearly visible. Every now and again, she watched him subconsciously stroke his tattoo of memoriam. She had looked for too long once, and he had met her gaze. He simply looked at her, sighed, and moved off to prepare his gear as the sun penetrated the horizon for the new day. She had sat there, leaning up against Joel, until he had woken up, wallowing in her silence.

Everyone had woken shortly after daybreak, though some more easily than others - Joel had grunted slightly, and tensed at the dull throbbing in his abdomen, but apart from that, he had risen almost normally and proceeded over to help Adam clean and load the guns they'd managed to salvage from their skirmish the previous day. Evelynn's awakening hadn't been as nonchalant - the moment consciousness had returned, pain had reared its ominous head. She'd accidentally rolled to the right, only to yelp loudly in pain as the bones in her badly injured leg shifted. Adam had darted over to her in a heartbeat, and deftly, with great care and attention, lovingly lifted her off of the floor and retied her splint, gently running his hand down her contorted face and muttering words of comfort.

Whether what they'd eaten that morning was to be classed as 'breakfast' was something of a mystery to her - the fresh meat they'd brought with them had been tainted by the oil of the damaged coupe, and the only supplement they had left was a pack of dried, salted venison jerky that Joel had prepared, and some questionable mushrooms that Adam had plucked out of the ground after a short time foraging the area around the cottage. Adam had become completely silent upon discovery that the canned food promised in the store had all been taken, or opened and left to rot, indicating a recent presence in the cabin. The letter to him had been concealed rather well, and as such had been overlooked by the previous tenants - however, the lack of food in the chalet made the idea the letter had been written weeks ago depressingly plausible.

The two types of food they'd prepared definitely did not mix, and the sensation was something akin to combining salty tyre rubber and rotten couch stuffing. Regardless of the unpleasantness that was their entree, the food partially filled a gap in her stomach that had been almost hollow since the last of her energy reserves were sapped fleeing from the gigantic infected. She felt moderately comfortable with her feed, although she realised that the injured woman and the two huge, towering men accompanying her would hardly be satisfied by the meager portions they'd eaten.

They had set off shortly afterward, not hesitating to leave the area due to the security risk of other people in the vicinity. Joel had ransacked a few cupboards, and upturned few valuable items; what he did uncover proved its worth, however. They made good use of an extra radio, a handful of batteries, an old, worn, olive-green hiking pack of which Adam moved all of the gear from his smaller backpack into, and a half-empty bottle of painkillers that immediately went down Evelynn's gullet. The last thing he'd found was a surprisingly pristine, high-quality electronic camera, of which she immediately asked to examine. No one gave any objections, so she'd sat and trawled through the hundreds of pictures displayed on the tiny display screen, mostly of birds and other wildlife from a time when that place had been used as a camping location.

After the medication, Evelynn could lay some pressure on her split leg, but she still relied on the strong backs of the two men to hold her upright. They took duty on either side of her, each with one of the woman's arms over their broad, hardened shoulders. Due to this complication, Evelynn told Ellie to keep the 22 Hunting Rifle, and Joel had suggested that she take point for them.

The terrain had initially been easy enough; the chalet was intersected by a simple but worn, sun-faded grey driveway, of which walking had been a breeze. Despite the ease at which they had spanned the seven-hundred meters the driveway had extended, the rest of the journey refused to follow suit. The road didn't lead anywhere; presumably, it'd been a work in progress, or there had once been a dirt track that had linked it to some other place, now long grown over by fauna.

They had clambered through trees, over boulders and up and down inclines for hours, and progress had been absolutely dismal. Even at full health, one was not capable of traversing country of that fashion quickly, and with four extremely fatigued people, one of whom was injured, the journey seemed to stretch on for a lifetime. On the odd occasion, she'd hear a muffled expletive from one of the people behind her, the speaker of which commonly changed.

She spoke a few herself; branches and bushes seemed to prop up suddenly out of nowhere and swipe her across the face, or the mud beneath her sturdy boots would give way and get the ass of her pants wet and filthy. By the time they'd reached a clearing in the relentless thickness of the forest, she noticed she had strayed a little too far ahead, and rested her aching body carefully onto a cool, moss covered boulder that jutted up and out of the soil. The men were equally dirty as she was, although Evelynn had been spared of the filth; the two strong pairs of shoulders supporting her had kept her out of the majority of the bog they'd practically waded through. They had temporarily stopped together at that boulder, and Ellie had drawn the dusty camera out of her backpack and suggested a photo shoot to lighten the mood.

To her surprise, everyone agreed.

The clearing they'd entered was beautiful; the thickness of the forest gave way to a steepish cliff, sharp but traversable, that led down through thin foliage into a little brook that bubbled and gurgled at the lowest point.

They had sat there for a few hours, catching their breath, and sharing friendly stories. It'd been the first time they'd properly spoken to each other as a group since they day before, and it helped massively in alleviating the stress that hung over them. After some friendly banter, they decided to take some photographs before setting off down the brook that gurgled below.

She shot one of Adam and Evelynn together; Adam looked haggard and worn, but still maintained his strength. Despite his appearance, he still smiled, and it was as natural as the dirt that clung to his clothes. Evelynn leaned up against him, and smiled equally, her teeth straight and a beautiful white. The picture they'd taken had highlighted her beauty; her eyes glowed an iridescent blue, and he face was flushed from the walk, giving her cheeks a bronzed colour. For the first time since Ellie had met her, Evelynn didn't look like she was under some sort of pressure.

She had gotten another one of Adam on his own, tending to the rifles, one of herself, and had given the camera to Evelynn, as she took one of her and Joel sitting together on the rock. She hadn't seen him smile in a long time, years almost; but the one he wore was as genuine as the love he bore for her. She made a moral choice to keep that camera for the rest of her life, immortalising the beauty of nature and the kindness of her friends, both old and new. She'd stowed the camera back into her rucksack, and the group finished up their business by the boulder.

The next leg of their journey had proved considerably harder than the first, and had dampened her confidence to the point where it was almost non existent. The brook had rapidly changed into a larger river, with rocks that were impossibly slippery and occupying the entirety of the floor. Her boots were sodden through within minutes, and as such the grip on their soles were rendered useless; she slipped over constantly, one time fully going in, despite the water only being knee high at its highest. As they'd journeyed downstream, they'd had to stop multiple times, as the stones and boulders that had fallen over the decades grew into taller and much more difficult to descend sculptures. She had to stop and help the men after one situation, where she'd struggled to get down the rockface, and they had had to strategically transfer Evelynn from top to bottom whilst keeping her dry, translating into both them and Ellie becoming drenched through after their efforts. Shortly afterward had called for another break, as Adam had finally cracked under the weight of the gun-filled hiking pack, and needed to pass it over to Joel to carry, in the consideration that the scotsman's back probably needed to stay in one piece.

It'd taken them nearly six hours to walk the length of the river, and they finally arrived where it opened up into a large, still, cyan-silver lake. Ellie stopped reminiscing about the day, and helped to set up a small camp as the evening set in, drawing up a fire and trying to dry their clothes as much as possible after they'd cleaned the filth and muck off of them. The boots were the worst off, and everyone had removed theirs to avoid the suffering of walking around in sodden footwear. The grass on the banks of the lake were cool and comforting on her feet, and the aches that she'd borne during the day gradually faded as the cool air stroked her exposed face. The two men had gone off together an hour or so previously, and she had sat herself lazily down next to Evelynn and discussed their pasts, feeling the need to distract the scientist from the throbbing pain of her snapped leg-bone.

"So how'd you two meet?" She said. "I kinda got the vibe it wasn't exactly a cakewalk."

"No, you're right." Evelynn replied. "It definitely wasn't."

The black haired woman picked up a small pebble, and lazily tossed it into the crystal lake, creating ripples across the surface.

"Adam and I met," The scientist began, "in a circumstance that really isn't that shocking nowadays."

"How'd it go down?"

"Hunters. Hardly one for variety, is he?"

Ellie chuckled lightly at Evelynn's humour.

"Anyway," she continued, "it all went down a long time ago. Nearing eight years, now."

"Were things different back then?"

"Some were, some weren't. Everyone was a lot more scared of the infected. Now, of course, the tables have turned. The human race does amaze me sometimes. We make the stupidest decisions."

Ellie cast her eyes to the floor. "I can vouch for that."

"So, everyone was a lot more scared of the infected, right? Including me. We'd just started to see the first few Clickers, and things were getting a lot more serious than they had been. Therefore, me, my brain, and my knowledge of biology plucked up a weird drive to go out and study them."

"Why?"

"Why not?" The black haired woman met her gaze. "It's no different to scientists studying any other virulent disease in the past. The only change was that I had no one to do my field work for me, so I picked up a gun and did it myself. It worked well, to begin with."

"To begin with?"

"Yeah. One day I got into a rough spot, and ended up lost in some woods. It was a week before I found any sign of civilisation, eventually coming across a city quite far north. I hadn't eaten, and had survived on water." She laughed quietly. "I was a pretty shitty shot back then. Hitting a deer was certainly a mission."

"You're still here, though. You survived."

"Yeah, but no thanks to my marksmanship. I was so hungry that I wandered into the town, my mind fully focussed on finding food, and only on that. As such, I didn't plan a way in, and some assholes got the jump on me. They caught me in a already-looted grocery store, and I fought like hell to get free. Didn't kill them though. They chased me around the town for the next whole hour."

"Why didn't you just shoot the bastards?"

She shrugged. "I don't know... I panicked, maybe? I honestly can't remember. All I can recall was the running, and then falling over."

"You fell?"

"Shot, actually. One of them managed to get a bullet into me. He was almost as bad at shooting as I was. He fired a volley, but all of them missed. One managed to rebound off of a metal sheet on the ground, though. It hit me right in the back of the leg, just under the knee. It fragmented, so I had a whole bunch of shrapnel in me."

"Then he appeared?"

"Bingo. He stuck his head around the corner, peppered the one who shot me, and hollered at the other to leave. He did, the coward. Dropped his gun and ran right off. Unfortunately, the gunshots had roused every fucking infected in the town. The last thing I remember saying to Adam was; 'Thanks for capping that bastard', then I passed out. Next thing I knew, he was sitting next to my bed, ready to take the shrapnel out."

"I thought you were the doctor?"

"I was. I taught him how to fix people, he taught me how to kill them. Ying and yang."

She hesitated for a moment, and then continued.

"Plus, I pulled him out of an incredibly hard time. He'd just lost the last guy in his squad. The guy's name was some military slang, I think it was-"

"Blufor."

"Yeah, that was it. Anyway, Adam hardly spoke for the first week, he was determined to hunt down the man who'd killed Blufor. It was bordering on an unhealthy obsession, so... I suggested we pull some infected in, so I could study them. That's when we decided we needed a better set-up. Shortly afterward, we were a thing. Bonded in grief, like so many others."

"Like Joel and I..."

"Yeah, just like you two." The elder woman ruffled the teen's auburn ponytail comfortingly. "But, bonds formed in fire are always the strongest."

Ellie smiled, and looked up to Evelynn.

"You come up with that one yourself?" She asked jokingly.

"What? Of course not." She chuckled in reply. "I always hated English. Too fucking vague."

They waited there together for an hour or so, and Ellie slowly began to get past the overwhelming sense of betrayal she'd felt at Evelynn's concealment of her infection. For her, that had been a fatal lie; she never looked at people the same way after that, and never would again; her bite was long healed, but Riley still floated around in the back of her consciousness. Despite this anger, and disappointment, the hostility she bore Evelynn for infecting Joel was starting to waver. Adam was right; the older woman and her were alike, and she definitely meant well. Ellie debated whether she would've done the same thing in Evelynn's place.

Before she had time to properly mull the situation over, the bushes just around the corner from them ruffled, and a silhouette appeared in the foliage, its identity masked by the evening light. Evelynn tensed at the disturbance, and Ellie quickly scooped up the 22 Hunting Rifle, and trained the barrel toward the rustling bushes.

"Ellie, Evelynn!" Joel's voice called out. "Get on over here!"

"You go." Evelynn murmured to her quietly, drawing a pistol to her side. "I can handle myself."

Ellie got up without a word, and made her way over to where Joel was now standing, the light machine gun raised and pointed into the bushes.

"What's up?" She asked when she arrived beside him.

He gave her a look that said 'wait and see', and then hollered into the foliage.

"All clear."

More rustling followed, and another two silhouettes emerged from the edge of the forest. One of them, at the rear, was Adam, who had restrained the other; she was younger, not much older than Ellie, and ghastly to look at. Where Ellie was holding onto her last shreds of innocence, this girl had clearly thrown all hers away a long time ago. Her head was half shaved, with a dirty brunette side-combed Mohican that stuck to the right flank of her face and stretched down to her lower neck, in vain attempt at recreating a punk-rock hairstyle. She wore a torn black singlet, with gothic and violent tattoos on each arm, vulgar and offensive where Evelynn's were beautiful. The girl's face was moderately normal, barring the two rings in her right eyebrow, and the tiny metal ball-bearing that protruded from a lip piercing.

"Get your damn hands off me, asshole."

"You ought to watch your mouth, girl." Adam spoke forcibly.

"Fuck you."

He wrestled her forward, his colossal strength dwarfing her own. The girl was moved toward Ellie and Joel, and Ellie could now see that she was no older than eighteen.

The girl turned to Adam, still playing the role of loudmouth.

"You better have a fucking good reason for bringing me here, you foreign bastard."

Joel muttered to Ellie.

"Real piece o' work, this one."

The girl shot Joel an obnoxious look of patronising distaste.

"No more than you, old man. What, you forget your dentures or something?"

Joel chose not to respond, and the girl turned her eyes to Ellie.

"Who's this tyke?" She asked mockingly.

The girl's tone, and her insults to Joel and Adam sparked Ellie's temper into a flame. Two could play the hothead game.

"It's Ellie, you bitch." She almost shouted. "And for the record? Those are my friends you're talking about, so how's about you shut the hell up?"

"What a tongue you've got, you little shit." The girl countered. "Might be I find somewhere else to shove it than your mouth."

"If you don't cram it, I'm gonna-"

Joel's hand clamped gently onto her shoulder.

"Drop it, kiddo."

"But-"

"Drop it. She ain't got nothing on us."

Ellie did as she was told, and the girl chuckled obnoxiously, seemingly satisfied with her meager victory. Adam ushered her forward, and the four walked back around to where Evelynn was sitting. Ellie glanced at the girl a few times, and noticed ligature markings on her wrists, indicating that she'd tried to wriggle free. Adam didn't tie knots for the sake of it; his were disciplined, tidy, and military; and probably more effective than handcuffs would ever be.

The girl was silent as they walked around the perimeter of the lake, only piping up to spew some belligerent abuse towards Evelynn when they arrived. The slender woman gave no reply, only shooting the teen an intense glare. Adam practically threw the girl down by a tree, and lashed her bonds around the outside of the trunk.

"This knot," he began, "will get tighter as you try to wiggle around. So if I were you, I'd be a polite little girlie from now on, yeah?"

"You're an A-Class asshole, huh?"

The scotsman turned away and left the girl tied sitting by the tree, wandering the few paces back over to where a little fire was popping and swirling as the night air drew in and the sky became darker, and everyone else sat around it, gathering warmth.

"Where'd you pick that thing up?" Evelynn asked, gesturing towards the obnoxious youth lashed to the small pine tree behind them.

"In the woods, a few miles from here. She was just wandering around."

"Damn good actor, that one." Joel added sarcastically.

"How do you mean?" His statement confused Evelynn.

"She was all tears and sadness at first, sayin' that we had to save a friend o' hers lost in the woods or something. She led us into a spot, and pulled a knife on us."

"Then I restrained her." Adam said.

Joel chuckled, remembering what'd happened.

"Restrained her? You tackled her like a football player."

"That still hurts, you fuck." The girl hollered from behind, apparently eavesdropping on their conversation. Adam turned, his patience being tested.

"What was that I said about being a good little girl?"

"Bite me, asshole."

Adam sighed, and turned back into the group.

"Yeah, I thought so."

Evelynn continued pressing for information.

"So what's her real gambit?"

"No clue." Joel replied. "She said she was from that town, though. Her name's Buck, or something like that."

"That's right!" The girl replied from the back. "Buck, it rhymes with-"

"We get the idea." Evelynn interjected.

The girl chuckled in satisfaction, then settled back down and mocked sleep, snoring loudly in her efforts to frustrate everyone.

"You think she's for real?" Ellie asked.

For a moment no one responded, all of them simply weighing up the situation. Adam spoke up first.

"I don't know, not for certain. Whether she's doing this for her own gain and lying through her teeth or not, I'm not sure. But, if she does know the way to this town, she might know Amber."

Evelynn contributed next.  
"Maybe you should ask her."

The Watcher didn't respond, simply engaging in an action. He stood quickly, moved over to the hiking pack, and scooped his helmet up off of the ground, carrying it in his left hand. In his other, he held the gleaming .44. He deftly skirted around the side of the fire, gestured to Joel, and made his way swiftly over to the surly youth who was now illuminated by a dull orange glow. Joel followed suit, and stood behind Adam as he knelt down beside the girl. They were talking loudly enough for Ellie to listen in, so she stayed seated next to Evelynn, drinking in the warmth of the fire.

"You see this?" Adam inquired, holding the dull grey, steel-lined helmet up to Buck, and identifying the ornate blue eye patterned on the forehead. "What does this mean to you?"

"Oh, shit!" The girl replied, laughing almost maniacally, realising what the symbol meant. "No way, you're not... you're the goddamn Watcher? I heard he was Scottish, but..."

"But?"

Her face changed from fake humour to a mocking and almost absent glare.

"I fucking hate that guy."

He sighed, and continued pressing for information.

"Joel." He muttered.

Joel drew Adam's survival knife from his belt, and the scotsman took it in his hand, laying the helmet on the grass next to him. He raised the blade of the knife to the palm of the girl's left hand, and pressed slightly, just enough to draw a small amount of blood.

"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Your choice."

"I thought you were into good shit, bro. Like daisy picking, and knitting?"

Adam pressed the knife a little harder, trying to push past her sarcasm.

"Woman around here that goes by the name of Amber. What do you know?"

"Amber? Oh, that yellow rock? You collect stones too? Wow, you're such a fag, I had no fucking idea."

The temper Adam had displayed in the operating room a few days ago spiked up again. He didn't fuck around when it came down to protecting his friends. He moved the knife from the girl's palm to the top of her neck, just underneath her jaw, and continued the same technique.

"Amber. What do you know?"

"Fuck all, bro."

"What do you know?"

She spat on his hand, and his face contorted where he swallowed his rage.

He rotated the knife around, and gently pressed the point into her throat, just scratching the surface of her skin.

"Last chance, or I make you into a fucking pin cushion."

Adam's show of anger actually managed to sway Buck, and Ellie thought she saw a smidgen of fear swimming in those cocky eyes that mocked you as they looked you over.

Ellie glanced over to Evelynn, who was intensely observing the situation. She almost looked surprised by Adam's methods. Joel seemed to think of it as nothing more than a morning coffee.

"Easy, bro, easy. I'll tell you what you want to know. Just... take that there razor away, huh?"

Adam didn't reply, simply swiveling the knife around in his hand and slamming it blade-down into the soft earth.

"Alright." Buck began. "Who was it, Amber, right? Yeah, I know her. Crazy bitch. Some kind of military drop out, I don't know. She took it upon herself to run that town a few miles south, but I haven't seen hide nor tail of her in a while."

"But she's at that town, the town you're from?"

"I ain't saying."

"You're from that town?"

"I ain't fucking saying."

"Which means yes." Joel added cynically.

"Exactly." Adam leaned in close to the girl, intimidating her.

"Here's what's going to happen." He started. "You're gonna take us to that town, yeah? No strings attached, and no tricks. You try anything, and you'll end up a human kebab. You got me?"

"I got you, asshole." She replied.

Adam took that as what it was, and left Buck sitting by the pine, with nothing else to say to the disrespectful teenager. He wandered back over with Joel, and the two sat down by the fire with the two women. Evelynn looked surprisingly uncomfortable in Adam's presence when he was in this state. Ellie wondered whether she actually truly knew how Adam operated.

"You shouldn't have been so forceful." She said to him.

He looked up at her. "What?"

"You should've been kinder."

"She's a bully." He justified, turning his head back to face the fire. "Bullies respond to strength."

Evelynn also broke off the look, and turned her eyes towards the tiny, crackling flames. "It's just not like you." She murmured softly.

He didn't respond to that statement, only continuing to stare into the swirling orange and yellow of the campfire that warmed and protected them from the cold of the autumn night. Joel turned to her after a few minutes, and beckoned her over to him. They walked to the water's edge, and scooped up two the the sleeping mats they'd brought with them, lashed to the top of Adam's pack. He gently unravelled them both to avoid ruining the careful folds and poor stitches, then laid down on the shoddier of the two, leaving Ellie with the practically pristine modern sleeping bag.

"How's about you get some sleep, huh? Been a damn long day."

"Tell me about it." She lay down on the sleeping back and gazed upwards at the hundreds and thousands of shining white specks populating the night sky.

"Stay till it suits us, right?" She asked.

"Bingo." He replied. "I ain't exactly placing my full confidence in this town of his, so just be ready to haul ass, if we need to. I got a bad feeling about that Buck girl."

"Me too." She replied.

"If I didn't say before..." She continued. "It's good to have you back. I missed you so fucking much."

She saw him smile in her peripheral.

"Glad to be back, kiddo. Someone's gotta look after you." He turned over, hugged her gently, and fell back onto his own mat.

"Night, baby girl. Sweet dreams."

"Goodnight, Joel."

She shut her eyes, and fell into the deep embrace of sleep.


	12. Chapter 12 - One Way Or Another

A sparrow chirped, and happily jumped around the branches and infrastructure of a towering, moss-jacketed tree, flitting carefully, thriving and revelling in its habitat and the cool morning air. Golden streaks of sunlight lit the dust in the air, creating a sheen of iridescent natural beauty that hung over the sparrow's wooden kingdom. Her belly was empty; she needed supplement for her young, who one day soon, would depart from their improvised nest and fly off into the world, to start over and raise chirping little chicks of their own. The cycle of life continued, and in the downfall of the human race, was stronger than ever before.

The sparrow flitted down gently to the floor, almost lost in the long and dew-soaked grasses that carpeted the ground. She hopped around deftly, her little feet propelling her to the side of a small human, stationary, curled up in a strange material that wasn't from the forest.

Ellie cracked her eyes open and the sound of the little bird, and looked his tiny form over absently. She yawned lightly, rubbed her eyes with her hands, and looked again. The little bird was still sitting in front of her, its head tilted slightly to the left, expectantly. It chirped, and her brain took a double take, almost unbelieving of the sight before her. She froze in realisation as not to frighten the small creature, and smiled at it.

"Hey, little guy." She said affectionately, in awe that the tiny bird had gotten so close. "What're you here for?"

The bird hopped closer, chirped, and then pecked lightly at the floor. After its gesture, it stood back up, and tilted its head slightly, once again waiting expectantly.

"Oh, you want food?" She moved very slowly, and gently drew her backpack around and sat it in front of her. The bird watched quizzically, and let her continue. Ellie reached into the depths of her backpack, past a spare magazine, two full chambers for the .44 and her share of venison jerky before her hand came to rest of a small, sealed plastic bag. She drew it out, gently threading it through all the other items, and showing its contents to the little bird. It reacted, moved towards her, jumped on her backpack, and chirped again. She was amazed at how eager it was to meet her.

"Nuts." She said, wrestling open the bag of assorted nuts and seeds. "Old ones, though, but they don't go off. I was gonna save them, but... ah, what the hell."

She drew a handful of the roasted nuts out and scattered them around the down-trodden grass where her backpack had been. The sparrow chirped in thanks, hopped down off of her backpack, and eagerly began scooping up the nuts and swallowing them, in order to store them for her young.

Ellie's euphoria of nature was destroyed when a large pebble landed by the bird, and it immediately flew away in fear, leaving her behind. She watched it sadly as it rose back up into the treeline.

Buck sniggered, shot an mocking grin at Ellie, and then turned around on the rock she was sitting on, poking the embers of the fire with a stick held in her one free hand. The other was lashed to a young tree, by the rock, with a large number of plastic cable ties; there were too many to count, and all of them had been wound tight.

She sat up in her sleeping bag, and her eyes wandered wearily over to the large pine where the surly girl had been bound the previous evening. The rope that'd been used to restrain her had been cut through, the restricting knot still perfectly tied. She saw the rope was fraying where it had been severed, pinning its breakage as an escape instead of a release. Sure enough, by the pile of gear in the middle of the camp was a knife she didn't recognise.

The only other person awake was Adam. He sat across from Buck at the fire, not taking his eyes away from the youth. He had lacked sleep, obviously; he wore a blatantly displeased expression, and his eyes carried fatigue that suggested a sleepless night of running through the woods, trying to hunt Buck down. She didn't doubt that he would've succeeded; a military professional could easily chase down an underfed teen with an attitude almost as bad as the subject matter of her tattoos.

In his hands, the British Army camouflaged carbine rested. He sat tensed, unmoving and silent, ready for anything that Buck could send his way. While the Scotsman was exceedingly unimpressed, Ellie could tell that the ruffian was loving every moment. She sat their with that stupid, mocking grin, the very look that made you coil up in annoyance just at sight. Personally, she would never cross Adam, but this new girl seemed to enjoy nothing more than winding the veteran up.

Ellie groggily stood, shimmied out of her sleeping bag, and stretched. Her entire body ached from the intense tramp the previous day, and a couple of vertebrae clicked, sending a cringe across her face. She scooped her backpack off of the floor, careful to protect the camera, and slung it lazily over her shoulders. On glancing around the camp, she noticed it was just after daybreak; the sun hung low in the sky, and the pink and orange tinges of dawn had all but disappeared, giving way to the cool and crisp blue tinge of morning.

She slowly began to walk over to the fire, and glanced around at her surroundings, trying to rouse herself from the effects of deep sleep. Joel and Evelynn were still out, as usual; the two were always the later ones. Ellie had been having trouble with the pains her body was under from the stress, and often stayed awake trying to put off the aching, but she knew Adam was different. Once again, she saw he wore a faded black, tattered singlet, exposing his tattoo of respect to the lost. She wondered if he was the same as her, and whether he saw their faces swimming before him at night, almost close enough to touch, before they screamed and he's yanked out of sleep, left sitting in an eerie and cold sweat.

She bypassed Buck entirely, and sat down next to the Watcher, resting her weight on the cool and strong stone.

"Sleep well, princess?" Buck inquired, that same look staring jestingly at Ellie.

She ignored the jab, simply not acknowledging the mockery the other teen posed. She spoke instead to Adam.

"She get out last night?"

"You bet I did, sister." Buck interjected. "You're knots aren't so special when I have a knife, are they Scotty?"

Adam shot the girl an angry glare. "Yes, she did. You'll be pleased to know I employed the tackling tactic again."

Ellie chuckled, loving the thought of the huge man tackling the obnoxious youth and giving her a taste of her own medicine.

"Speaking of that tackle, how's your back? I sure got you good." The Scotsman asked Buck, now taking the role of sarcastic mockery.

Buck only grinned that same, horrid grin, and brought one of her thousand spare responses to her mouth to be viciously spat out.

"Better than hers." She gestured to Evelynn. "The men that put me on mine actually have dicks."

"I suppose I asked for that." He said, sighing in distaste. He turned his attention back to Ellie. "She got out of the ropes sometime around midnight. I was awake at the time, on the side of the lake. Heard her rustling through the bushes. She didn't get far, don't worry."

Ellie took his story as truth, staring into the lightly pulsing red embers littered throughout the seared black charcoal of the fire.

"How's Evelynn?" She asked, surprised that she actually cared about the state of the woman who'd willingly infected Joel.

"Between you and me?" He leaned in close to her. "Not good. She's coping, but there's no way she can handle much more of what we did yesterday. Besides, if we don't get her some help soon, the bone is going to be the least of her worries. If that puncture in her leg gets infected, well... it won't be long until lights-out."

"Shit, that bad?"

"Not particularly. No different to any normal injury like that."

"So we should probably avoid the ridiculously intense hikes, huh?"

"Might be an idea, yeah."

"Oh, thank god."

Adam chuckled lightly at her attempt to lighten the situation. She could see the stress in his eyes, and the lines in his face; he barely slept since Evelynn had gotten injured, he was always protecting, always vigilant, always watching. Despite his tension, she could see that he was also relieved to put an end to their inadvertent journey and sleep on a proper bed, without the constantly dragging weight and disorientation of a hiking pack.

"What's for breakfast?" Ellie asked optimistically, despite already knowing the answer.

Adam leaned backwards slightly, casually flipped up the flap of his hiking pack, rummaged around, and pulled out a plastic bag, containing a blackened, rubbery and dry amount of meat.

"Jerky with jerky and some jerky on the side." He dispassionately joked.

"Oh, yippee."

"You gonna give me any?" Buck asked. Ellie noticed her face had changed; the mocking and smug grin had been wiped away at the premise of food, to be replaced by vindictive and genuine desire. She almost thought the foul-mannered teen was going to start drooling.

Once again, Adam took his chance to wear her shoes. He drew two pieces out, handed one to Ellie, and chewed on one himself.

"Food, you see," He began patronisingly, talking through his chewing, his voice slightly muffled, "is earned by doing good things. Like being courteous, saying 'please and thankyou'... and by taking us to places we want to go."

A look of anger flashed across Buck's face.

"I haven't eaten in eight days, asshole."

"You call me an asshole, and eight will become nine."

He shook the bag sarcastically, like teasing a dog.

"Sure you don't want any?" He used Buck's grin, and extended the bag out towards the teen. When she eagerly reached out to take it, he yanked it away again, just before the fingers of her free hand had made contact.

"Fuck you." She blurted.

"Ah ah ah, you don't get something for nothing." He teased.

"What do you want, bro? I'm goddamn starving here."

Adam's business face slipped back on, his former joking interrogation method long forgotten.

"The town."

"Not this shit again... I told you, I'm not from the fucking town."

"I don't believe you." Adam replied.

"Me neither." Ellie interjected.

Buck scoffed, and turned her attention to the sixteen year old.

"Why not, tyke?"

"Your vest, idiot." She gestured to the singlet that Buck wore. "That tag, on the lapel? 2017-63-185. Your birth year, your weight, your height. It's military-grade classification so they know who you are at a glance. It's only been used in quarantine zones, like the big cities. Or towns that want to stay free of infected."

"Huh." Buck said as the mocking grin spread across her gaunt face. "Looks like the little shit has a brain after all." She glanced at Adam. "You got me, big guy. Hook, line and sinker."

Adam huffed, wary of masquerade. Ellie could tell that Buck had admitted to the defeat far too quickly for Adam to be at ease with the information. Still, he didn't question the outcome, and she listened as he spoke to her again.

"Alright, I got you. Now, you work with me, and you'll get your fill of food. Understand?"

"How much?"

He shrugged. "Take the whole damn bag if you want, I don't care." He leaned in to the fire slightly. "I need to get to that town. Today."

"Fine." Buck responded curtly. "We're not too far now. Where were you thinking of going?"

Adam reached into the pocket of his khakis and carefully removed the laminated map of the surrounding area. Still on its surface, scrawled in marker, were hundreds of locations of stashes and buildings, rivers and fresh-water wells. In the near centre of the map lay the power plant, encircled in black ink. Luckily, Adam had the sense to removed the location of the mine before he showed the map to Buck.

"I wasn't sure. I heard southwest." He gestured, and ran his finger along an imaginary line, drawing along orange circles depicting the growing heights of hills. "Although," he continued, "I don't know where. My plan was to move to a vantage point on these hills, and scout from there."

Ellie doubted very highly that the scouting trip was Adam's actual plan; he wasn't the type to come up with only one way of doing something.

"No." Buck stated bluntly.

"No?"

"Those hills are shitty to climb and cold as hell. Your girlfriend won't make the journey on a leg like hers."

"What do you suggest, then?"

Buck leaned over the dead fire and traced another line with her free hand.

"We go around the hills, then down this track in the forest. It's easy ground, and okay to give medical treatment in case your girl's leg goes bad."

"It wont." Adam interjected.

Buck paused, and looked at him, upset at the interruption.

"You gonna let me finish, or what?"

Adam sighed, and gestured in a manner for her to continue.

"So there's an old quarry here, and your town... is here."

She rested her index finger on a clearing in the forest, almost entirely overlooked on the map due to its minuscule size. The original computer writing that'd been on the map had practically faded, but there was just enough left for it to still be legible. There was a solitary black dot, and written next to it were the words 'INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX.'

"The industrial area? That seems too obvious."

The cocky teen leaned back against the large rock and yawned mockingly.

"Shit, it's hard trying to get something through your thick skull. You asked me where the town was, I told you. We good?"

Adam hesitated momentarily.

"No." He said, sliding the bag of jerky back inside of his pack. He turned to face the girl again. "We're not good until we get there."

"If you say so, asshole."

He brushed the insult off and stood, reaching into his pack again. This time the search was quicker, and after a few moments, he fished out his fading, brown leather satchel.

He gestured to Joel and Evelynn, who were still silently sleeping underneath the shade of the massive pine by the waterfront. "They had their shots?" He asked, drawing out one of the syringes of inhibitor and gently easing the head into the vein on the underside of his arm. The syringe drained as he pushed the translucent liquid into his bloodstream.

"I made Joel have his yesterday, but I don't know about Evelynn."

"Alright." He said casually, this time slipping the satchel into his khakis instead of in his pack. "She's not stupid, she'd had probably already done it when we left."

He drew a fraying rag from one of the other pockets of his bag and gently packed it in around the leather satchel, and then sealed his pocket's zipper tightly.

"C'mon. Let's wake them up and get on the move. The sooner we lose Buck, the better."

They strode together, only stopping to tread out the final puffs of the fire. On their way past the restrained Buck, she addressed Adam.

"The Eagle's Nest." She uttered, not turning her head to speak to him.

"What?" He replied, confused by her meaning. She sat up and gave him a look that spoke massively about how stupid she thought he was.

"The town, meat sack. It's called the Eagle's Nest."

"Why's that?"

The youth exaggerated the previous look further. "It's just a name, asshole, not some cryptic-ass mystery for you to solve."

Adam once again shrugged the insult off his shoulders, his moral armour seemingly impenetrable and easily deflecting Buck's relentless attacks. They strode past the youth, ignoring her, and arrived at the messy pile of gear surrounded by bedrolls, the thick and tall green grass now pressed and down-trodden. He left Ellie's side, and walked over to the slender woman wrapped in both fabric and furs, quietly kneeling and placing his huge, gloved hands lightly on her shoulders. The woman stirred, and shifted, issuing a yelp of pain that ignited hilarity in Buck. The big man helped her onto her good leg, rested her on the larger of the stones, and began helping her prep her gear.

She moved slowly over to Joel, knelt next to him, and did the same. He stirred at her touch, rolled over to face her, and smiled genuinely.

"Can't be time to wake up already, can it?"

She returned the smile. "Afraid so. C'mon, big guy. Same old same old."

"Walking?" He huffed humourously. "Great."

He managed to rouse himself, and stood groggily to tower over her, as he always did; her vanguard, her protector. Without thinking, she hugged him. He didn't question it, only silently embracing her in return. She felt phenomenal, and almost in denial about being able to hold him again after his incredibly near-death ordeal.

They separated, and remained in silence as they lazily meandered over to the snuffed-out fire, scraping sleep and dirt from their eyes. They had no time to sit down, however; before they got the chance, Adam and Evelynn had geared up, ready for the journey ahead. The only visual evidence that someone had been here were the charcoal-coated fragments of wood and the carpet-like, trampled grass.

The injured woman limped and hopped over to them, almost comically given her characteristic lack of coordination. She arrived by Joel after great effort, greeted him, made a pleasant joke, and slipped her arm over his shoulders to take the weight off of her broken bone.

Adam was busying himself preparing his survival knife; he moved quickly over to Buck, and for a split second, Ellie thought the youth had finally cracked him, and that he decided she was better off dead. The thought was banished from her mind as the knife sliced through the air beside Buck and began sawing away at the tricky and tight cable ties binding her to a nearby sapling. The knife cut through them relatively easily, downwards, the shining sharp blade parting the dirty plastic and releasing the hostage. Before the youth had time to move, the barrel of the carbine was in her face. Ellie drew the glistening .44 from beneath her jacket, just to be safe. She liked the feeling of it in her hands; its bulk, whilst inconvenient, emanated a feeling of power that matched that which it possessed. It made her feel able to defend herself.

"Alright, sunshine." He said to Buck, prodding with the barrel and causing her to stand, still rubbing the ligature markings on her wrist from her lengthy restraint. "Walk with me."

For once in a blue moon, the surly teen chose to reserve her smartass comments. She walked in silence over to where Ellie, Joel and Evelynn stood, and remained still in front of them, the big Scotsman in a shooting stance point-blank behind her.

"Here's how this is going to play out." He began. "I need to help carry that lovely lady, there. So does he. Ergo, we're not going to be scrutinising your every move. You're going to take us to this town, no questions asked, and Ellie is going to be looking after you today."

Ellie thought that she'd react in fear or hesitation, fervently questioning Adam's choice, yet the only thing her body did was nod dutifully and click back the hammer of the Magnum.

Buck scoffed. "Or what? You're saying I make a wrong move and she'll cap me like Clint Eastwood?"

Adam sighed, doubled around, lowered the carbine, and placed his hands on the girl's shoulders, speaking genuinely where his mockery had reigned before.

"No. I'm saying that if you get us there, we'll help you in any way we can. Food, medication, weapons. You could even stay with us, if you want. I don't know who you've dealt with in the past, but we're not bad people."

Adam's sudden kindness caught Buck completely off guard, and the inked-up teen simply stood in front of him, baffled, her mouth hanging slightly open in silence. After a few moments, she uttered a reply.

"Uh... okay, I guess."

The Watcher hoisted Evelynn's other flank off of the ground, and the two men stood behind Ellie.

"C'mon then, Sherpa Buck. Onwards."

The teen said nothing, and only began moving towards the treeline. Ellie followed next, the .44 raised and trained on her back. The men and Evelynn came last, grunting and yelping at every step. Ellie dreaded the length of the journey, and only hoped that it was meagre in comparison to the lengthy hike they'd endured the previous day.

After breaching the outskirts of the forest, they walked for almost two hours, although not with any particular difficulty; the terrain was allowing, and mostly flat, soft dirt, with the odd high-climbing and evenly spread tree. She breathed in deeply during the trip, soaking in the cool alpine air and thriving on the bliss of the wind on her face. Buck had remained silent for the entirety of the journey, occasionally stopping to check the direction of the sun and catch her bearings. When Adam had offered her his map, she simply declined, stating that it wasn't necessary, and walked off leaving the Scotsman with a suspicious look plastered across his face.

Shortly afterwards she addressed them again.

"We're almost there, now. Keep up."

Joel sped slightly, onto to be countered by Evelynn, blurting desperately through her pain.

"Fuck, no, not faster, please, I... I just need a rest. A... a few minutes."

Adam stopped for a moment, thought, and formulated a plan.

"I'll wait here with her." He said, finally.

"You want me to go with 'em?" Joel asked, surprised.

"Yep." Adam responded, the two carefully laying Evelynn down to sit on the forest floor. He unslung the carbine from his back and handed it to Joel. "Here."

He grasped the carbine warily in his hands, got a feeling for the weapon, and then slung it gently over his shoulder.

They were about to move off when Buck interjected.

"Hey, no!" She blurted. "You two need to come with us too."

The haste in her tone prompted suspicious looks from everyone.

"Why?" Adam asked through slitted eyes.

"I, uh... because they need to process us all together as we go in."

Ellie could almost smell the bullshit, and the others could too. Despite this, no one managed to issue rebuttal before Adam replied.

"Alright." He said, knowingly agreeing with her false story. He subtly winked at Joel, the tattooed youth remaining oblivious to their careful gesture. "We'll catch up."

Joel nodded knowingly, and walked away, gently shoving Buck by her shoulder to get the teen moving before she had a chance to object again. She loped forward, fatigued, with Ellie and Joel following. She saw he'd brought the carbine down from his shoulders, and held the splinter woodland camouflaged weapon tensely.

They walked a few minutes further forward, eventually slowing their pace in a clearing that turned out to be a large, abandoned quarry. Buck cupped her hands to her mouth and mocked a bird call to the sparrows flying in and out of the tree-line behind. Some of the sparrows replied, and a grin stretched across Buck's face while a suspicious scowl contorted Joel's. The small click of a safety being turned off was heard.

Cliff walls rose sharply in front of them for almost twenty meters, with large and gaping chunks missing where minerals had been extracted seemingly ages ago. Ruined and rusted-out yellow machinery sat around the place, strewn carelessly aside when the news of the apocalypse had reached the ears of the workers. In some places, the rock had given way, creating gigantic piles of dusty gravel and crushing any unfortunate plant life underneath.

After a few hundred meters, they stopped. Cliff walls surrounded them on all sides.

Ellie tensed, squeezing her hand tightly around the black leather grip of the gleaming Magnum.

"What's the hold-up?" Joel asked impatiently, annoyed with the girl who was simply standing still in front of them, staring at the cliff-face.

Buck slowly turned, that old mocking grin spread widely across her face.

Ellie noticed a small and irritating red light appear in her peripheral, followed by a dull pop.

Joel doubled over as a projectile hit him in the neck. She screamed, fearing he might fall, but the big man only removed the syringe, crushed it in his right hand, and sent a volley of rounds up the cliff-face. The end of a dull scream could be heard after the sound of bullets had stopped ringing around the quarry.

There was a distinct rustling to their right, and two geared men burst out of the tree-line and began hosing the quarry down with bullets. Joel leaped left, landing behind a rock, and hollered to her.

"Ellie! Get down, now! You've gotta-"

She was winded by the force at which Buck collided with her and threw her to the ground. The magnum went flying, its chrome enamelled surface glinting as it careered through the air. She yelped at first, blocking the teen's punches with her forearms. Buck mocked her as she hit her, and Ellie's anger flared. She swiftly brought her knee upwards and slammed it into the elder girl's side, crashing her kneecap into the surly teen's kidneys. Buck yelped, and fell to the left off of Ellie. Now it was her turn.

She rounded and sat on top of Buck, her anger overwhelming her alongside her fear, her fists flying backwards and forwards, furiously. The tattooed teen managed to block a few of her hits, but eventually faltered, allowing Ellie's right hand to crash into her face. Crimson jets exploded out of the girl's nose, and she kicked Ellie off, sending her rearing backwards to fall hard on the dirt and dust-covered ground. She stood quickly, her body ignoring the pain, and drew her penknife, flicking the blade out of the handle. As she turned around to charge, she stopped dead in her tracks.

Buck stood in front of her, Adam's 44. Magnum gleaming in her grip. She wore that stupid fucking smile again, her teeth stained pink by the blood that ran in rivulets from her broken nose. More men piled out of the bushes; she never saw how many, her eyes were focused on the tiny black orifice that the end of the gun. She heard gunfire from both Joel and the men, screams, and two of them fall onto the ground, lost in the high grasses around the border of the clearing. Her attention returned to Buck and that glistening revolver in her hand.

"Not on top now, are you, bitch?" She taunted. "You see, our boss wants you alive, but I'm sure he wouldn't miss one stupid little shit like you."

The hammer on the Magnum clicked backwards, and Ellie swallowed, fear rising high in her throat.

"You've pointed this fucking thing at me all day. Let's see what it does to your-"

A sudden and massive stream of red confetti burst out of Buck's right wrist, with a similar blast radius to a hand grenade in a can of crimson paint, sending her weapon flying. The teen swayed on the spot for a second, staring at her destroyed hand, her mind seemingly in denial of what'd happened, and eventually collapsed to the floor, her cocky mouth now issuing nothing for a change. Ellie turned to her left to see Joel, who'd just managed to loose a round from the carbine before he'd been restrained by two geared-up men of equal size to him, and thrown to his knees, the gun he'd carried being strewn aside to land in the dirt.

A pair of hands grabbed her, then another, and forced her to her knees as well. She barely felt the cool and clean needle sliding in to her neck, and hardly noticed the liquid being inserted until her vision began to blur around the edges.

"Fuck, not again..." She managed, before collapsing to the floor and closing her eyes.

The last image printed on her subconscious was Buck's shocked expression as the bullet had ripped through her hand, sending the Magnum careering across the quarry like a chrome-covered shooting star.


	13. Chapter 13 - The Eagle's Nest - I

The coolness of the dark, dirty concrete floor somewhat soothed her throbbing head. She gently stirred, groaned, and sat up.

She wasn't alone. To her left lay her protector, still in the void of unconsciousness. They'd obviously administered him with a significantly larger or more potent dosage of the drug they'd used to detain them both. Her memory was foggy, but she remembered seeing quite a large number of bullet-peppered corpses around him when he'd been restrained.

Her assailant's injury flew back into her mind; the dull pop of the carbine in her peripheral and the sickening, wet explosion as it had torn through Buck's hand. She thought solemnly about the fact that she'd failed to keep Adam's beautiful .44 Magnum safe, remembering it skidding across the quarry's yard, away from her sight.

Adam. Had he seen what had happened? Had he and Evelynn even been close to their betrayal? She didn't know, and she cared even less. She was overwhelmingly frustrated with everyone; she had seen in their eyes that they had clearly known about Buck's plan, but the Watcher and his so-called 'good morals' had let them blunder blindly into the ambush. Joel hadn't even objected; he'd hardly spoken for the entire journey, only ever piping up to growl something menacingly at Buck.

She opened her eyes widely, adapting to the change in brightness, and observed her surroundings. She was in a cage; that much was to be expected. She wasn't the only inmate, however. Joel lay next to her, breathing lightly, unharmed but unconscious, and uncharacteristically peaceful in his sleep. She gave him a once-over, and was dully reassured when she'd discovered that no injuries had befouled him at the hands of their captors. To her surprise, others were present too; the cell was almost crowded. Some wore faces of fear, some fatigue, some indifference. All of them looked tired, and pale, but healthy; that was almost more suspicious than if they looked hurt.

A pair of eyes looked at her from the other side of the cell, saying nothing. The eyes belonged to an aging woman, who simply looked as if she had given up. There was a man sitting next to her, sleeping on her shoulder, his white shirt stained a dried crimson. There were two dark-skinned people sitting against the wall next to her, and she almost jumped out of her skin when she realised they were there; she wasn't frightened, or hostile towards them, she just simply hadn't seen many people like them before. The last person was Ramone, almost a fortnight ago now. She wondered how he, the old man and the younger woman were getting on in Adam's field lodge.

There was one other in the cell with them; a man, tall and well built with a clean-shaven head and a weathered face sat alone in the farthest corner of the depressing room. Upon registering her glance, he looked at her, his eyes lingering on her for a moment. His face was tough and rugged, but not menacing; he wore that characteristic face of that happy uncle you always enjoyed seeing.

He glanced away when a man wearing a balaclava walked over to the cell and stood at the bars.

"You." He said with authority, gesturing to her. "Over here, now."

The man addressing her was clad in the same civilian-militia style gear the men who ambushed them had worn. She warily approached the bars, remembering her last encounter with a man wearing a balaclava, and how horrific it had turned out to be. She stood in front of him, her eyes cast down, saying nothing.

"Ellie." The man said, tones of a Scottish accent sliding through.

Upon her realisation of who it was, her anger flared up.

"You fucking asshole!" She said loudly. Some of the prisoners in her cell looked up at her expletives. The man in the corner kept his head down. "You let us walk right into the trap! You-"

"Be quiet." He said in return.

Another guard, further down the hallway, stopped and turned around, roused by the noise.

"You okay there, Sticks?" He asked, his voice echoing up the hallway.

"Fine." Adam replied from underneath the balaclava, not looking at the man, imitating an American accent almost perfectly. Ellie was surprised by his initiative, and the stupidity of the guard on duty with him. "Just trying to get some information for the boss."

The other guard huffed. "You have fun trying to get anything outta that pipsqueak." He turned, hiccuped, and walked down the hallway, away from them. She heard his footsteps grow quieter, until there was silence.

Adam raised the balaclava, confirming it was him.

"You fucking asshole." She said again, more quietly than before, although with the same poison in her tone.

"Stop it." He replied, almost angrily. "I knew what I was doing."

"The fuck are you talking about? Have us walk straight into a trap?"  
"No." He countered. "Have you two walk into a trap so I could find out who was running the show."

"Why? I thought we were good. The fuck happened to all your 'protect the innocent' bullshit?"

"You can't be good all of the time." He sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about how this happened, but it was the only way. When Buck stuttered in the forest, I immediately knew things weren't right. I've been playing this game for too long."

"So what?"

"So, I figured it would be better to ghost you two after being captured than line us all up for the firing squad at the gates of the town."

"What are you talking about, the firing squad?"

"Go to the window in the back wall. Look at the guards."

She didn't reply, and swiftly moved away from him, the anger still burning and reddening her cheeks. It seemed as if people were almost lining up to betray them; first Evelynn and her bullshit science, now Adam and his crazy plots.  
She moved past Joel, still lying asleep in the center of the floor, and made her way to the window. She reached for the top, her hands falling slightly short of the window sill.

One of the dark-skinned people, a man, spoke up, obviously realising that Adam was on their side. Now, all of the conscious prisoners were listening attentively... barring the weathered man, who simply looked at the floor. She almost thought she saw a smile on his face, but scrapped the thought as simply a product of the darkness playing with her eyes.

"May I?" The dark-skinned man asked Adam, gesturing to Ellie. The Watcher nodded, not speaking.

She tensed slightly as the man placed his large, strong hands under her shoulders, and hoisted her up.

"Thanks." She said out of fearful respect.

"What do you notice?" She heard Adam holler quietly from behind them.

She observed the area outside of the barred and tiny window; it was late afternoon, nearly dusk, and the area was slowly growing darker. Large, yellow industrial-strength lights were starting to be powered on, illuminating darker areas in an artificial white light. She glanced to the left, and saw a large mass of people, slowly commuting up and down an improvised high street to their homes. Some stood and conversed with each other while some simply strode past, taking no notice of anyone. Behind the cobbled-together high street was a large and surprisingly well-kept warehouse, with two even bigger factory-type buildings behind that. Everywhere she looked stood guards in civilian-militia gear, patrolling the street, chatting, or standing guard and manning the spotlights on the ten foot-high cinder block wall to her right. She looked at them, trying to discern anything that seemed even the slightest bit unusual.

"I don't see anything. They all just look like guards."

"Look closer. Their belts."

She saw a burly guard just a few meters away from her, patrolling the wall, his belt clearly in sight. He was facing away from her, silently staring out into the dusk. After a few moments, he turned around to walk off, and Ellie found what she was looking for.

A matte-black and incredibly pristine 9mm pistol hung in the side of his belt.

Now that she had identified the change, finding it on others was easy; sure enough, every guard she observed wore the same pristine sidearm in their belt holsters.

"The pistols." She said, gesturing to the dark-skinned man to let her down.

"Yes." Adam replied as she made her way back over to him. "They're here. They're here, and Amber isn't."

Her fear returned at the premise that the town was being controlled by the red-rings. Where the red-rings were, Pyotr wasn't far behind.

"Why are they here?" She asked.

"I have no idea," He replied, "But it's a damn good job you got captured. Word on the street is that they've been gunning people at the gates down on sight."

"Why?"  
"I can't guess. They say they were all infected. I don't buy it. It's probably because they don't want to disclose their location; if people come in the front, they can leave and tell others were this place is."

"Makes sense." She admitted. "So what about Buck?"

Adam allowed himself a small chuckle. "Joel got her good. She's never going to fire a gun again. I'm pretty sure that hand had to come off; I heard she's been whining about it ever since... anyway, she'll live, although she probably doesn't deserve to. She was essentially the bait for the quarry ambush, although our experience didn't go to plan. She usually plays the 'oh, I'm so hurt, please help me' card to lure people there."

"Bet you're glad you stayed back, then."

He shrugged. "Didn't make much difference. A squad came after us anyway."

"Let me guess, you-"

"Yeah." He said, confirming their deaths.

"How's Evelynn?" She asked, again surprised by her motives to ask about the erratic scientist. Was it simply curiosity, or something more?

"She's fine." He answered. "One of the soldiers had antibiotics on him from a flesh wound he'd taken. I took her back to the chalet and dosed her up. She'll be fine until we sort out what's happened here."

Ellie still couldn't process the pure scale of the infiltration the red-rings had pulled off. They had completely assimilated into the Eagle's Nest, eliminated the guards, and captured the leader. From what she'd seen on the high street, the civilians in the town remained none the wiser.

"How did you get in?"

"Easy." He began. "Changed clothes and made my way up the old water pipes under the cover of darkness. No one's questioned me yet."

She continued pressing for information, still slightly disorientated from a second involuntary sleep.

"How did they do this? All of the guards, and Amber?"

She saw him stare thoughtfully for a moment.

"I'm honestly not sure. My guess would be a night raid; silently murder the guards, and capture Amber, but... this whole masquerade they're putting on is so unlike them. And the fact they're capturing people instead of killing them... it almost makes me more suspicious."

The dark-skinned man spoke up.

"I heard something about experiments."

"Experiments?" Adam asked, almost in shock. "This is way bigger than I thought."

"You don't think..." Ellie began, frightening thoughts forming in her head. "The power plant, that thing... Pyotr talked about them being his 'pets'."

She heard Adam swallow.

"All the more reason for me to get you two out of here, then." He said quietly.

The dark-skinned man spoke again, his curiosity roused on hearing of Adam's schemes.

"You're... you're not the Watcher, are you?"

Adam smiled. "In the flesh. Don't go spreading it around."

"I... of course not." He replied, walking towards the bars and stood next to Ellie. She saw his dark arm extend through the iron railings to Adam.

"Carlos."

The Scotsman returned the handshake warmly.

"Adam Cassel." He replied.

"So you're the one trying to get us out of here then, huh?"

Adam let go of the hand, and looked down at the floor in shame.

"Carlos, I... I'm afraid not. Not at the moment, anyway."

A look of fear and displeasure washed over Carlos' dark face.

"What do you mean? You're a freakin' legend, man."

"I know." He gripped the bars with gloved hands and leaned forward. "But I can't do this alone, not kill all of them." He glanced over to Ellie.

"How many are there?" She asked.

"Guards? Near a hundred. Maybe more. We're definitely going to need reinforcements." He turned his gaze back to Carlos. "They're very sloppy with the way they handle prisoners here; no documentation or photographs. I suppose I can get a handful of you out, but for the others? It'll have to wait. Hopefully they don't notice that three or four of you are missing."

Ellie piped up. "That other guard didn't know you weren't his buddy."

Adam chuckled slightly. "He's been drinking all day."

He addressed Carlos again. "I need you to keep them under control. I don't want everyone piling out of the cell when I open it."

Adam fumbled with the keys, and moved to unlock the cell door.

"Gotcha, I'll make sure to-"

A door was thrown open at the other end of the corridor, loudly crashing against the concrete wall and sending the noise ricocheting down the corridor. Adam flinched, and deftly slid the ring of keys back into his pocket. A voice issued out from the doorway, and footsteps gradually grew louder.

"Sticks, what's going on?" The voice was authoritative, and it spoke with conviction. The voice of a leader.

Adam slid the balaclava back down over his face, and moved away from the cage.

"Simon, I didn't expect to see you down here. What's wrong?" He asked, once again American.

"You let Aaron get drunk again. I thought I told you not to let him into the whiskey supply, he's practically drunk it all. Others need to drink, too."

Ellie couldn't help but feel a little humour at the domestic nature of the commander's visit.

"Apologies. I'll be more proactive next time."

"See to it." The man said as he arrived next to Adam, and looked into the cell. He was huge – taller than Adam by almost two inches, and built more heavily. The veins in his forehead and next stuck out almost grotesquely, and his blond crew-cut only made him more menacing. She heard the mysterious man in the corner of the cell move at the sound of the red-rings' commander being present.

"What've these people done, Sticks?" He asked almost dispassionately, upset at the thought of not having his favourite alcoholic beverage. He had a strong southern accent that was contradictory to the civilised manner with which he spoke.

"Captives." Adam replied casually. "Jackasses that walked into the trap at the quarry."

"I see." He replied, looking them over. "They're all healthy. Good. Andrey will be happy with us."

"Glad to hear you say so." Adam managed to sound genuine despite his hatred for the man.

The gargantuan commander slapped him on the back.

"Well, good work. I'm glad to see at least you're keeping a decent eye on them."

"Thank you, Simon."

"Will you be at the intel meeting this evening?"

Adam raised his head slightly at the mention of something he'd been unaware of.

"Intel meeting?"

"Yeah. We're picking up where Dubrovnik left off."

Ellie drew a sharp intake of breath as she remembered Krass' contingency.

"That survivor town in Jackson?" Adam asked, also apparently remembering.

"Yes." The huge man replied courteously. "I'm banking that we can do a much better job than Krass ever could. He was smart, but incredibly vain. He could never look past his own personal gain to get the job done properly. Did you hear? The Watcher got rid of him a fortnight ago." The big man chuckled. "Only favour he's ever done for me."

Ellie could hardly bear the irony of the situation.

"I'll be sure to pass on my regards when he comes for us." Adam said jokingly.

"He can try, but he won't get past the gates. Not with the amount of men we have!" The huge man ran a massive hand through his buzz-cut, turned, and swiftly moved back down the hallway. "I'll see you in an hour, Sticks."

The metal door swung shut again, and Adam drew the keys from his pocket.

"That's going to complicate things." He admitted.

"He didn't even question who you were." Ellie pointed out. "How long have you been this... 'Sticks' guy?"

"Three days." Adam replied, gesturing to his lapel, where the words 'Sticks' was embroidered. "They saw that and just started using it as my name. Idiots. I guess the previous Sticks wasn't much of a talker."

The key slipped into the lock, turned, and the bolt quietly clanged out of place. Carlos moved to his female companion, who was looking up to him in silence.

"Annie, I need you to stay here, okay? I'll be back for you. Don't worry."

"Okay." She timidly whispered in reply. She turned her attention to Adam. "You keep him safe, you hear?"

"Yes ma'am." Adam courteously replied.

At the premise of escape, the aging woman spoke up, her male counterpart still asleep.

"You said you want four people, right? Well, I can-"

The mysterious man at the back of the cell interjected.

"I'll go, Jennifer. Keep your son safe. I'm better with guns, anyway."

The aging woman returned to silence, and just sat there, looking at them.

The mysterious man raised the hood on his jacket and stood, his eyes and nose concealed. His chin was wide, and his jaw strong, and covered in a thick black beard, grown out of captivity rather than choice. He stood, and made his way over to Adam and Carlos. Ellie turned, and knelt next to Joel, trying to rouse him from his sleep.

"Joel? Joel? C'mon, Joel, you need to wake up, please, we've gotta-"

"It's no use." The mysterious man said. "They give adult doses and child doses of the drug they use to knock you out. The adult dose takes nearly a week to wear off. You've only been here three days."

She sat back onto her legs, defeated and upset.

"We can carry him." Carlos suggested, gesturing to the mysterious man. "You'll help me carry him, right?"

"Sure." The man replied. "What're we going to do if we get in trouble? I seem to remember you have an Intel meeting. "

Adam said nothing, only drawing a dull-black and scratched assault rifle from his back, that she assumed had been Sticks' before he met his unfortunate and unavoidable end. He moved towards Ellie, and handed it to her.

"Do you think you can handle this?" He asked.

She warily placed her hands on the metal of the weathered assault rifle.

"I... I don't know."

"You can do it, Ellie." He took it from her grasp, and showed her the shooting stance. "Fully automatic." He continued. "Lean into the gun like this, with the stock firmly in your shoulder."

"Right."

He took it back down, and handed it to her, relinquishing his grip and letting her take its weight.

"Fire in bursts."

"Bursts. Gotcha."

The two men grappled Joel and held him over their shoulders, and moved out of the cell, with Ellie closely behind them. Adam closed the metal door and locked it firmly.

"Take that door, there." He gestured down the hallway in the opposite direction that Simon left, to a rusting metal door. "That leads out into the courtyard, but it's pretty well concealed. Watch out for the guards on the walls. After about two hundred meters you should come across a small concrete building; that's the old sewerage works for the toileting facilities here. It's how I got in – the door's unlocked. Follow the pipes downwards – they go for about an hour – and you should reach an old pump-station. Meet me there."

"You're not coming with us?" She asked, slightly frightened to be left in the care of two strangers.

"Intel meeting remember? I need to find Amber." He gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Ellie, you can do this."

"Thanks, Adam." She said genuinely.

He nodded, then returned to business mode. "Alright, out you go. Hurry, and good luck."

The moved out of the door together with Ellie taking point and the two men carrying Joel closely behind. Adam saluted, and closed the metal door. There was a light clang as the bolt slid into place, sealing them outside.

The sky had darkened considerably; it was now late evening, and remaining undetected would be easy for her. The two large men carrying a third large man would be a little harder to conceal, however.

To their immediate left was the continuation of the cinder-block perimeter wall; she assumed that the prison facility was located on the outskirts for security reasons. She quickly surveyed the wall parallel to their path, and was relieved when she realised their stroke of luck; no one was patrolling the section of the wall they needed to bypass, and the spotlights were turned off, loosely hanging in their frames.

"This way." She whispered to the men.

They walked quickly and quietly through a small pile-up of building materials; there were containers of cinder and concrete, plastic pipes, metal roofing, and unused brick cylinders cut into segments, seemingly to build a chimney or pipe of some sort. They made use of these as cover, niftily making their way across the courtyard through the large brick tubes.

The final obstacle between them and the entrance to the waterworks leading out of the town frightened her somewhat; a large expanse opened up, about a hundred meters, with a clear and lit view to the centre of the courtyard where the guards convened between shifts around a fire in a barrel.

She hesitated at the edge of the pile of building materials, and addressed the men.

"We gotta get across here. There's the building Adam talked about."

"There's no way we can all get across at once." The mysterious man said. "It's way too exposed."

"We could try one at a time." Carlos suggested.

"But that leaves the problem of-"

"Joel?" Ellie asked, looking in despair at the aging man, still in the strong grip of the anaesthetic.

"Yeah." The man replied.

"He okay?" She heard herself ask him.

"He's fine." The man replied. "He's just getting old."

She ignored the comment, not ready to realise Joel's age. She drew in closer to them as not to raise her voice too loudly, and took on the role of commander, one of which she'd learned from Adam.

"Alright. I'm small, and quick. I could get over to the door, check it, and then wave you over once it's open. One at a time, yeah?"

"Yeah." Carlos said. "I'll bring the big guy over last."

"Alright." She inhaled, preparing herself. "Let's go."

She darted quickly from the brick tube, and covered the ground between the pile of industrial goods and the small, concrete building in mere seconds. It was light here, and she was exposed, but she was almost silent in her movement despite the assault rifle, and the guards around the barrel-fire didn't even notice her.

She reached the rusted, green metal door and gently lay her hand on the handle. She pushed it downwards, and despite creaking slightly, it popped gently open. She edged it ajar just enough for her to ease in, and gestured to the men back in the pile of miscellaneous construction goods.

The mysterious and unnamed man made his way over next, ghosting her almost perfectly, and to her surprise, more quietly than she'd managed; whoever this guy was, he was trained. He covered the distance in a matter of seconds, and slipped inside with Ellie.

She gestured to Carlos next. The big man slung Joel over his back, and carried him over, more slowly than she would have liked. He was just about to enter the doorway when his coat snagged on a outcropping nail in a piece of wood.

"Oh, shit!" She heard him curse quietly.

Somewhere in the distance, a dog heard the noise, picked up his head, and started barking in their direction.

"C'mon, you stupid piece of shit..." Carlos kept tugging at the wood, trying to free himself.

"C'mon!" He said more forcibly.

The result he got was not the one he was aiming for; the nail came free of his jacket, but at the price of the large stack of wet wooden planks it was holding up collapsing, making a large amount of noise. The dog barked more loudly, and Carlos quickly slipped inside with Joel still on his back. Ellie shut the door silently, and told them all to hide. The three men took refuge under a broken table, while she hid in a small cupboard.

The cupboard was cold, and pitch black. She heard the sound of the door opening, and the dog padding in, breathing heavily, its human owner's feet falling just behind it. She saw a flash of light in the crack of the cupboard's doors as a flash-light scoured the room. It searched for a few minutes until it was turned off, seemingly deducting the disturbance as nothing suspicious.

"Stupid dog." She heard. Shortly afterward, the door shut again, and she quietly eased her way out of the closet.

"All clear." She said to the men, who slowly emerged from under the ruins of the broken table. They stood gradually, and followed her as she walked. She decided it was better to take things slowly in the dark than risk being spotted using a flash-light.

The building was small, and it didn't take them long to find what they were looking for. A medium-sized metal grate led downwards into the sewerage line that Adam had discussed earlier. The pipe itself hadn't been used for over two decades, but the smell lingered; it was one of the foulest things Ellie had smelt in a long time. Regardless, she knew they had to press on and escape the Eagle's nest as quickly as possible.

The padlock that had been sealing the grate lay just to the side of it, destroyed; she'd guess by a bullet, and realised how Adam had made his way in. She gently lifted the grate, took its weight, and heaved; it came away slowly, scraping along the ground. She lowered herself down, and let herself fall in.

She landed with a splat and was ankle-deep in filth, causing her to wretch slightly. She swallowed the sickness, and gestured to the other men to descend. The mysterious man came first, landing softly behind her, and not losing his composure in the same way she had. He stood to his full height, turned, and took Joel from Carlos as he gently handed him down. To her surprise, the big man stirred, and placed his own feet on the floor.

"I can..." She heard. "I can do it."

Carlos followed him down shortly afterward.

Joel stood on his own feet. He was confused due to waking in a sewer, but quickly adapted to the situation as she explained the predicament they were in. It took him almost ten minutes to adapt fully, but eventually he was ready to move.

The mysterious man chuckled in pleasant surprise.

"Tough son of a bitch." He said. "That drug had me out for six days."

Joel guiltily rubbed his neck where the needle had gone in.

"I've... had ones like it a few times." He said.

Carlos seemed to be amazed by Joel's resilience. He questioned him as they began to walk down the pipe, digging for information. Ellie listened to their conversation from the front.

"How old are you, man?" He asked.

"Too old." Joel responded, not harshly, but with a tone that dictated he wasn't keen to discuss the subject much further. "What about you?"

"Twenty four." Carlos replied. "I have an older brother, but I haven't heard from him in a while."

Joel huffed lightly. "I got a younger brother. Only a few years younger than me though."

"So still old as hell?" Carlos countered with a polite chuckle. "I kid, man, I kid... my brother Ramone is four years older than me, but I haven't seen hide nor tail of him in at least double that."

Ellie perked up when she heard a name she recognised.

"What did you say?" She asked, turning around to face them.

Carlos was surprised by her interest in his affairs. "I, uh... my brother? His name's-"

"Ramone." She said, remembering. "You said you haven't seen him in eight years?"

"Yeah." Carlos replied, intriuged. Realisation appeared on his face. "Oh my god, you haven't...?"

"Two weeks ago." She told him, remembering Adam confronting them shortly after their escape from Krass Dubrovnik's house of murder. "Adam let him stay in his field base with two friends of his."

"He's... he's alive?"

"Alive and kicking."

"Oh, thank god..." Carlos started, sniffing. It was weird to Ellie to see such a formidable character shedding tears of joy. "He's my older brother, man, we... we always did shit together, y'know? In times like this, family is all we got left."

Joel breathed deeply and exhaled, seemingly unaffected by the awful stench of the sewer line.

"Yeah." He said solemnly. She could only assume he was thinking of Tommy. She never got a definite answer as to why they had to leave; maybe she would ask him one day, face to face, when they weren't in danger and he'd answer her truthfully.

They endured the remainder of the pipeline in silence, trying to overcome the horrific smell that assaulted them constantly. They walked for almost two hours in the darkness and the filth, until they finally emerged into a bigger atrium that didn't stink of shit as intensely. There was a two meter drop that they all traversed easily, barring Joel who grunted and nearly fell over, yet managed to maintain his composure and stand without assistance. They climbed a rusted latter with missing rungs, arriving on a crumbling and treacherous concrete walkway that led into a few surprisingly good-condition rooms. The mysterious man lingered, taking in his surroundings. The words 'PUMP STATION S33' were painted on the largest concrete wall in faded black letters, confirming their location. She breathed a sigh of relief knowing they'd escaped the terror at the Eagle's nest.

Her relief was short-lived, however; upon reaching the conclusion of the concrete catwalk, everyone froze.

A small fire burned in the room in front of them; it was the hallway, leading to the outdoors, the exterior world sealed off by a thin metal door.

A man in grey, military-camouflage stood in their path in the doorway, his machine gun raised and primed. A red circle, complete with perpendicular line was emblazoned on his breast. Carlos wore a look of fear, while Joel was tensed and primed. The mysterious man was nowhere to be seen.

"The fuck are you?" The red-ring spat, two more of his comrades appearing from corridors behind him with their weapons raised. Before she knew it, she heard a small click, and span around; they had been flanked, and another red-ring stood behind them with an assault rifle similar to the one she carried. These soldiers were obviously separate from the ones in the Eagle's Nest; they wore their uniform with pride, while the soldiers in the town upheld a complex masquerade.

"Get on your goddamn knees." The one in front of them screamed, far too loudly for the enclosed space.

"Listen man." Carlos began. "We're just trying to-"

"Get on your goddamn knees!" No one did.

"Now!" The red-ring shouted. "Get on your fucking knees now, or I'll-"

Her life slowed down a thousand times in that far too familiar feeling of adrenaline taking hold, and she stared at the soldier in slow-motion. The door behind them, leading to the surface, burst open, and Adam sprinted down the steps, a bullet from his .44 Magnum flying out of the barrel and tearing through the back of one red-ring, then the other. The man in front of them stood looking at something behind her in fear, just before a jet of crimson exploded from the back of his head, and he collapsed to the floor. The slaughter had only taken moments, but it seemed like hours to her.

The bullet had come from behind her.

She turned around to see the mysterious man, his knife jutting out of the throat of the red-ring that had flanked them, the pristine 9mm pistol held firmly in his right hand. The man's hood had fallen down, revealing that friendly face she had noticed on him earlier. He wore a grin from ear to ear.

She turned around to glance at Adam, who looked as if he had seen a ghost. The burly Scotsman stood there in disbelief, simply looking at the man standing before him.

The man chuckled. "When I heard you say 'Adam Cassel', I couldn't believe it, not with the balaclava. But... it's really you, Gunny."

Adam stood there, paralysed, his mouth slightly open.

The man smiled some more.

"What, you really don't recognise me?" He joked.

Adam moved swiftly toward the man and hugged him tightly in a brotherly embrace, completely bypassing her, Joel and Carlos.

The men patted each other on the back, and shortly afterwards pulled back to look each other in the eye again.

Adam spoke one word, confirming the identity of the man.

"Blufor."


	14. Chapter 14 - The Eagle's Nest - II

"I thought… I thought you were dead. The rooftop, and Pyotr, he…"

Blufor smiled warmly at his brother in arms; two veterans and two friends, separated by this inhumane and vicious world, finally reunited… and at that, two tempered and savage commandos who could easily turn the tide in the Eagle's nest. The red-rings had efficiently and covertly assimilated into the township, in complete silence. They had assumed and calculated every outcome, probed every possibility, and even worn disguise to maintain their masquerade. Despite these extravagant and almost overcomplicated precautions, Ellie was sure that Adam had pulled together all the reinforcements they needed.

"Technically, I was." Blufor replied, lifting the corpse of the nearest red-ring and lazily tossing it over the rusted steel railing and into the pool of sluice below. "I was about to kick the bucket when Pyotr and his lackeys just… left."

"Left?" Adam replied, baffled by the situation.

"That's what I thought; weird, right?" He brushed past her and Carlos, and sat down around the red-ring's tiny fire in the room by the exit, looked Joel over quickly, and continued his narrative as Adam took up residence opposite him.

"Anyway, the bomb we planted went up and wrecked their convoy, barring a few SUVs they had there." Slowly, everyone else in the room took their places around the small fire. She sat next to Joel, and leaned in to his strong body, the fire and his warmth slowly draining the fatigue from hers. The big man glanced down at her, smiled, and turned his head back to listen to Blufor.

"A handful of them had flanked me, and Pyotr was already on his way to finish me off. He burst in to the room, looked at me, and walked out with his men when he saw you'd escaped. He just left me there to bleed out, the detonator for the C4 still in my hand."

Ellie interrupted the recital, curious for more information.

"A bomb? Why? How damn big was their set-up?"

Adam answered her query.

"Big. They had a few eighteen-wheelers, and a few SUVs with weapons. They were shifting all their kit, and setting up shop somewhere else. The entirety of their personnel were there. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up."

"You planned on killing them all?"

"Pyotr, primarily." Adam replied. "It'd been eight long years after he'd lost his shit, after he'd-"

The big man suddenly stopped, grimaced, and clenched his fists. Blufor picked up on the hurt and gently rested his hand on the Watcher's shoulder.

"It's okay, Adam."

Adam shuddered. "No, it isn't." He opened his eyes and looked at his squad mate. "It's time I got over this."

He returned his gaze to the fire, hesitated, but eventually continued. The rest of the audience was listening attentively.

"It was eight years after he'd murdered Skye, Welsh and… and Joanna. Both of us were driven by our rage. Both of us wanted him dead."

"And both of us walked into an ambush." Blufor added.

The idea that both Blufor and Adam were enraged and skillfully wielding powerful weaponry was an idea that made goosebumps shoot up Ellie's spine faster and colder than any bullet. It was almost as if they were the embodiment of fatality; they would've been ruthless alongside their discipline and cleverness. She was almost shocked at the premise that Pyotr had managed to weasel his way out of his assured date with death.

"Anyway... we were under heavy fire from mounted heavy machine guns, and men were pushing up. Adam took the coupe we'd built together, although not willingly."

Adam huffed. "You're damn right I wasn't willing."

"I kicked him out anyway. He was too valuable to die."

Adam said nothing, only staring into the fire and rolling around in deep thought, transfixed, mulling the past over in his head. It was clear that Blufor's sacrifice had a significant toll on the Scotsman.

"What happened afterward?" This time, Joel was the inquirer.

"I slipped in and out of consciousness for a few days, in that spot. Eventually, some folks passed through and saw the wreckage. Luckily they searched it, instead of skirting around the outside. They found me, picked me up, and got me healthy again. From there I went south for a few years, staying off the radar, especially due the the fact Pyotr was snooping about."

"South?" Joel asked, intruiged. "How far?"

Blufor shrugged. "I never had a map. I think I ended up in Boston, once. The military had a big set-up there, but... I'd had enough of the Army for one lifetime. Plus, they were getting attacked constantly by that militia group from the beginning that I'd completely forgotten about... what was it again?"

"Fireflies." Joel answered, informing Blufor.

"Right." He added. "Anyway, I couldn't fathom that bunch. Heard things good and bad."

Ellie noticed Joel hugging her a little more protectively than he had before the mention of the Fireflies.

"We've had our share of run-ins with them." Joel stated. "Let's just say that they ain't all the heroic propaganda makes them out to be."

Blufor nodded courteously, and then turned his head to Adam.

"I'm surprised you weren't down there fighting them, Watcher."

"I had something else to take care of. Well... someone else."

The Scotsman met his old friend's gaze.

"How long have you known I was the Watcher?"

Blufor shrugged. "I didn't, until you appeared at the cell. I'd actually been looking for the Watcher, with Amber. We knew they were coming; their operations had been spreading out, vastly. Then, not a week later, rumors about a Scottish vigilante with military training hitting one of their main bases started entering the gates with the people he'd saved, and Amber and I started to make the connection. I couldn't believe it was you, though, not until I'd seen you for myself. Unfortunately, they tossed me in that jail the moment they found out I had military training, and my search was cut off. Funnily enough, you came to me."

The conversation came to an end, and everyone sat around the fire in silence, gazing deeply into the miniscule, flickering, golden-coated flames. The fire gave off a light and warm orange glow that flushed skin with colour and gave eyes a peculiar and iridescent sheen. Joel's fatherly embrace warmed her more than the fire ever could. Something big was coming; she could feel it. Soon, all of their mettle would be tested in the most extreme way imaginable, and she couldn't shake the overwhelming fear that it gave her. The Eagle's nest would be a bloodbath before the end, part of her knew.

Blufor spoke up again, shattering the silence like the bullet that shattered Buck's firing hand.

"You said you were looking after someone?" He asked Adam.

He chuckled. "Yeah, you could say that. She looks after me, more like."

"I look forward to meeting her. I always did get the girls; it's good to hear you got a go for once."

Adam turned his head to Blufor, a wry smile stretched across his face.

"You always were modest, Blufor."

The squadmate replied with a hand on his heart, feigning being stricken.

Adam stood, smiling, a plan formulating in his head.

"But you will, don't worry. She'll be eager to meet you. First, though..." He gestured up the pipe Ellie and the others had traversed to get here. "We need to deal with the situation up there."

"Damn right." Carlos said, standing also. He was slightly shorter than the big Scotsman. "You got a plan, man?"

"I think so." Adam stated, drawing out a piece of paper from the inside of his stolen jacket and handing it to Blufor.

"A letter from Amber, to me. I'd date it written about three weeks ago. How long has she been missing?"

Blufor remained seated, simply opening the letter and pouring over the content inside.

"Just over two." He replied, not looking up from the yellowed paper.

"Then we can assume it was the red-rings."

Blufor stood, folded the letter up carefully, like it were fragile, and handed it back to the Watcher.

"It was definitely the red-rings. And, for the record?"

Blufor reached into one of the pockets of his khakis and drew out a large and ornate pin, almost like a medal. It was an enameled red circle, made of two coiling and winding snakes, with a sword lying perpendicular to the top. He tossed it lazily onto the box he'd just been sitting on, allowing everyone a clear view. The blood-red, enameled metal shone dully in the firelight.

"They're called Martyrdom, by the civilians in these parts."

Adam scoffed.

"Pyotr always had a taste for the dramatic, didn't he?"

Blufor nodded, and replied, although changing the topic and disregarding Adam's statement. That spoke volumes to Ellie about his hatred towards the man; it may even rival Adam's, despite the Scotsman's ill attempt at comic relief.

"We need Amber before we can take this place back. She's the only one who was ever able to keep it stable. Unfortunately... I have no clue where they've taken her."

Ellie remembered something from the prison, and addressed the Watcher.

"Weren't you at an Intel meeting?"

"I was." Adam said, a look of annoyance flashing across his face. "Bloody waste of time. It practically just an argument about whiskey and guard duty. That's how I managed to get down here in time; I walked out early."

"So we don't have a lead?" She asked.

Adam glanced at the corpses of the red-rings they'd slain, and then returned his gaze to Ellie.

"I guess not."

"I'm sure there's more where they came from." Joel added, standing. Ellie stood with him, keeping her arm wrapped around his back. She still wasn't sure what to make of Blufor, and feeling Joel next to her gave her all the security she needed.

Carlos' eyes lit up at Joel's comment.

"Exactly! One of them has gotta know where they're keeping Amber."

Blufor spoke. "You're not suggesting-"

"We find ourselves some more volunteers." Joel stated, the word all too familiar with him in this new world. His tone was almost trivial; it seemed as if the scenario would be easy for him, while Ellie shuddered at the thought. She watched as the mens' faces grew darker as they realised what they had to do.

"Remember how to Water Board?" Adam muttered quitely Blufor.

Blufor replied with a small and subtle nod. He turned slightly, and addressed the rest of the group. "We'd better get moving. Dump the corpses into the sewage and see what you can dig up in here. We move in five."

Adam didn't contest Blufor's taking of the leadership role, despite a wary look from Joel; he simply nodded and began looking around. Joel eventually followed suit, and soon they were ransacking the small set-up the Martyrdom soldiers had prepared in the pump station. The search was incredibly quick and efficient with five people, and they'd uncovered more than what they'd needed very quickly. She had found some food, and a half-used pack of paracetamol, which she slipped straight into her back pocket. The two veterans and Carlos had an unfruitful search, while Joel had hit the treasure trove; he'd found locked in a closet two low-calibre sniper rifles and a handful of tranquilliser darts, of which would make their trap considerably easier to pull off.

They gathered their things, snuffed out the fire,and exited the pump station, carefully sealing the door behind them and moving up the concrete stairway to return to the cool air and purple-black of the night. It was very late, now; the night was at its darkest, and would prove perfect for luring red-rings into an ironic trap.

They walked for about half an hour in silence, before the brilliant white of the spotlights on the walls of the town came back into focus. The journey had been incredibly short compared to what they'd endured in the pipes, and Ellie almost thought they'd wound up somewhere else until she saw the pistols on the holsters of two gate-guards positioned idly in front of an improvised metal gate.

They came to a halt about four hundred meters away from the postern gate, of which was woefully undermanned; the two lackeys stood half-heartedly gazing into the night, obviously suffering from fatigue, and not overlooked by any men on the wall. Adam took the two rifles from Blufor, gave the old friend his assault rifle, and handed one of the guns to Joel, the other to her.

"Here you go, Tex." He said simply.

"Hey, what?" Carlos piped up in a loud whisper. "Why ain't I getting a gun?"

"They're firing darts, not bullets. We need neck shots." She could see Carlos wasn't swayed by Adam's counter of his objection. "She's good, trust me."

"I'm good, I... ah, screw it." The dark-skinned man went prone in the trees, sulking.

He brought Blufor over to them both, and gestured to a small clearing in the trees where a campfire had burned a while past.

"I'm going to bring them there, okay?" They all nodded. "Now, it's time for a lesson in codewords."

Ellie couldn't help herself. "Cool." She said, intrigued. Joel smiled lightly.

"What do you want us to do?" He asked.

"Easy." Adam replied. "I'll be Sticks again. I'll go and talk to them, and draw them out here. If I say the word 'contacts', that means that it's safe to engage the targets. Neck shots with the darts, and they'll go down."

"What else?" Joel asked again.

"If I say 'tangos', Blufor takes them down, and we run. Clear?"

"Clear." Ellie blurted, not realising how daft her saying the word sounded until it'd come out of her mouth.

Adam seemed not to notice, and pulled down his balaclava.

"Alright. Ready?"

"Born ready." She heard Blufor mutter. "Go get 'em, Gunny."

Adam pressed a button on the side of the radio attached to his lapel, and spoke clearly, in that same feigned yet practically perfect American accent.

"Martyr Base, Martyr Base, over."

After a few seconds, the radio fizzled into life. She worried about the noise travelling to the guards, but the voice that issued from the radio was significantly quieter than she'd expected; she had to listen closely to discern the words.

"_Martyr Base, go ahead."_

"Sticks, back from scouting."

"_Hey, Sticks. Find anything?"_

"Shit all, as usual. Tell the two sleepyheads on the east gate that I'm coming in. Don't really want to be turned into a pin-cushion."

"_I'll let them know, over."_

"Thanks. Out."

The radio died again. She watched attentively from behind the cover of young trees, observing the two fatigued guards at the gate to the town. She saw one of them stir, listen, and then talk into his radio. Their gaze turned over to the forest, and she pressed herself low against the floor, unmoving, as to not draw attention to herself. Blufor, Joel, and Carlos were all prone, looking inward to the clearing. Adam donned his balaclava sprinted out of the forest wall, over to the gate. His haste immediately set the two guards on edge. She watched them conversing; he was acting, pretending that he'd been jumped. The trap was being set as they spoke, literally. She picked up the odd word from the conversation, and rotated around to face the clearing as they moved back over, the guards' two assault rifles at the ready. Adam followed behind, puffing, still playing his role. Luckily for them, neither of the guards had flashlights. Batteries proved to be in incredibly short supply nowadays.

She could hear Adam conversing with the guards as they drew closer.

"... just around this corner, the bastards were. They jumped me and took my fucking gun, I only just got that goddamn thing fixed."

"You know how it is, Sticks." The first guard replied.

"Unlucky is what it is." The second guard replied, lifting his gun. "Look at this beauty! SCAR-H, from before the shit went south! Got it off some stupid bastards we shot for their food a week or so ago. The guy tried to negotiate with me, can you fucking believe it?"

Adam sighed. "No, I can't believe it..." He said sarcastically as they reached the centre of the clearing. "To think, anyone would talk to you? Hilarious."

"Hey, what's that supposed to-"

"Leave it, man." The first guard said. "He's just fucking with you."

"Fucking with you?" Adam countered. "After some guy jumped me? What, you think I'm stupid? They could have their sights trained on you right now."

Ellie picked up on Adam's inference, and trained the crosshair of the scope on the thick flesh of the second guard's neck.

"There ain't no one here, Sticks." The second guard stated. "You sure there are guys after you?"

"Course I am."

"Maybe you need glasses."

Adam turned to them, and chuckled.

"No, I think I'd prefer contacts." He said.

The codeword, hidden neatly in a pun. She admired Adam's subtlety.

A hiss emanated from her right, and the first guard was struck in the neck and went down. She'd hesitated long enough for the second guard to realise what'd happened. She panicked and fired, but miscalculated, and the dart hit the man's collar and bounced off, trivially deflected by the thick material. He'd felt the force of the impact, however.

"Shit!" She blurted.

"What the fuck?" The guard said, turning and training his assault rifle right on her, where he'd heard the noise. Her heart rose high in her throat as they made eye contact.

The man didn't even have time to click his safety off before Adam's collosal fist crashed into the side of his neck, and he went sprawling to the floor, a disgusting crackling sound coming out of his mouth.

"Sticks." He managed between ragged gasps, his voice hoarse. "What the fu-"

Adam's boot met the man's face, and he went limp. She thought Adam had killed the man, until she heard his ragged inhalation through his now broken nose.

Adam peeled the balaclava off of his face, and the masquerade of Sticks vanished immediately.

"Let's go." He uttered, scooping the guard he'd incapacitated up and slinging him over his shoulders, while Blufor handed Carlos the automatic rifle and picked the other up, doing the same.

They left the clearing having left no sign they'd ever been there; Ellie was impressed by the efficiency of Adam and Blufor's trap, but she also burned with shame at the fact she'd missed her shot. Despite her blatant mistake, no one had flagged her for it, not even Adam. She especially hoped that Joel hadn't noticed her slip-up, as blatant as it had been.

The weight of the 22. Rifle in her hands began to register, and she felt a wave of fatigue washing over her body as they began to slink away from the perimeter of the Eagle's nest, slowly, trekking their way back to the pump station. She didn't think it were safe for them to return there after their encounter with the border patrol, but as vaguely familiar landmarks passed her by she had no doubt they were heading back to the tiny station at the end of the stinking, foul escape route.

Her legs pained her, and there was a horrible, uncomfortable knit in the lower-left reaches of her back, presumably a result of her position when she'd been unconscious. It tweaked agonisingly every time she bent the wrong way, causing her to gasp, and for Joel to turn around every now and again, wearing a look of concern.

Eventually, he moved backwards and strode strongly and surely next to her as they made progress. The two younger men carried their captives by the arms with Carlos accompanying them, dragging the guards' geared-up and limp bodies through the soft debris littering the floor of the small wood. The man who had been knocked out more forcibly stirred halfway through the journey, only to be met with another blow to the head. This one was executed with more precision and less power, but yielded the same incapacitating effects. Blufor struck the man on his right temple, and all the tension in his body dissipated almost immediately, allowing Adam to continue heaving him through the dirt. Ellie mulled briefly on the size of the headache the man would bear when he awakened, but then quickly realised that a migraine would be the least of his concerns.

With the time they took walking, she took the chance to see what'd happened to Joel; the lines in his face grew ever deeper, and his eyes darker as his hair was gradually being taken over by swathes of grey. Despite his resilience and his almost unstoppable strength, she could now see what Carlos had discussed earlier. Despite easily keeping pace with the other three men his younger, his breathing was heavier, and more ragged. The world they lived in was incredulous in the regard of mercy; how much longer would it be until he needed to stop living like a vagabond? How much longer would it be until he wasn't around to look after her any more?

Before she realised what'd happened, she'd stopped walking. Adam, Blufor and Carlos hadn't noticed, and continued walking away from her. Joel stood a few meters in front of her, turning to face her. Beads of glistening sweat were visible cascading down the structuring of his face.

"What's the hold-up?" He asked.

"I... I just." She began, stuttering over her words. Should she ask him now what his plan was as he grew older? Should she ask him to run away from this with her, and go back to Tommy's, where he could grow old in relative peace?

"I just needed to think about what they're gonna do to those guards." What actually came out of her mouth wasn't what she wanted; she could see the lines of suspicion in Joel's expression, the sign that he thought something more was going on with her.

"You don't need to be seeing nothing like that, kiddo." He sighed, and continued. "That isn't all, huh?"

Should she ask?

"Joel..." She began, her heart rising high in her throat. "What are we doing here?"

"We're goin' to that pump station, remember?"

"No." She replied, more forcefully than she would've liked. She saw him flinch slightly, taken aback by her tone. "What are we_ doing _here?"

Joel practically read her mind.

He exhaled. "You mean about leaving Tommy's."

Her anger, desperation, tension and despair all welled up inside of her and exploded out, cascading in a tidal wave of raw emotion.

"You're damn right I mean about leaving Tommy's! I was in school, you had a job, we had food and shelter, friends... and what? You decide we're better off slinking about with some fucking strangers we know nothing about, eating shitty food we find in old cabinets and picking a fight with some goddamn syndicate? That your idea of a good life, Joel?"

He didn't reply to her outburst, and only stood there, brooding. That enraged her more than any insulting reply could've.

"Well, Joel? A good fucking life, huh?"

"Stop it." He replied bluntly, his voice quiet and low. A sense of intimidation crept up her spine, but she pushed it down, determined to get to his core.

"Stop what?" She walked right up to him. "This shit is dangerous, Joel. How many times have we almost died up here? We're not what we were once. I don't know if I can survive it, and you know what?"

"What?" He inquired with the same menacing tone.

"I'm not even sure you could survive it. Not any more."

Her meaning struck home, she saw it in the change of his expression.

"The hell are you saying?"

"I'm saying it was fucking stupid of us to leave. I'm too young, and you're too-"

"Don't."

"Too damn old!" Tears had stained pearlescent lines into her cheeks that shone dully in the light of the moon.

She saw him forcibly swallow his anger. He leaned inwards slightly, intimidating her. She thought for a horrific moment that she had pushed him too far; she wanted to tell him to leave with her, not make him leave on his own.

"Too damn old, huh?" He asked. "Too damn old to get you out of Boston? Too damn old to get you outta that hospital? Too damn old to-"

She interrupted, her voice cracking slightly as the words emerged.

"To tell me why we really left Tommy's, and drop this 'we needed to move on' bullshit!"

He froze for a moment, and then ascended back to his full height.

"I ain't talking about that," he began, his voice quivering surprisingly noticeably. "I... I can't."

"Why not?"

"Ellie... I can't."

"Why the fuck not?"

"Because it ain't for you to hear!" He shouted at her. She saw a silhouette in the background stand up, and look at them. The outline was a familiar shape.

"Everything okay back there?" Adam hollered.

Joel moved closer to her.

"It ain't for you to hear." He said again, this time under his breath. "Ever."

With that, he turned and left her standing there, waving Adam off with a gesture instead of a vocal reply, traipsing away tensely. She brushed the tears from her eyes and followed, watching him push past the Scotsman without a word, leaving Adam looking quizzically in his wake.

"What's up with him?" He asked when she reached where he was standing.

"Nothing." She lied. "He's fine."

Adam wore the same look of suspicion. Lying to smart people wasn't the easiest of gambits. Still, he accepted her response, and placed his hand on her back, ushering her forward as he began to stride, making up the ground between him and the captives, now being carried by Carlos and Blufor.

"We're almost back." He began. "Now the real fun begins."

"Do you think we'll get anything out of them?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. They're perimeter guards, so they might have an idea of troop placements in the area."

"Who says Amber is in the area?"

"No one." Adam admitted. "Although, it would be incredibly inefficient in these times to keep a prisoner under guard a long distance away from a base of operations. She's nearby; I'm sure of it."

She pondered for a moment on Adam's methods of obtaining the aforementioned information.

"They're not just going to tell you where she is."

He sighed.

"I know. It's going to take more than that."

"How much more? That 'water-boarding' thing you mentioned?"

"You heard that? Unfortunately, yes, if they're unwilling to answer my questions. If that's the case, then... I don't want you in there. It's not exactly pleasant."

"No." She interjected. "I can handle it."

"Ellie-"

"I can handle it."

He nodded courteously. "Only if you're sure."

She walked in silence next to Adam, the assault rifle draped lazily over his muscular back. Gazing forward through the darkness were the others, carrying the captive red-rings; Joel never looked back, only ploughing ahead in front of Carlos and Blufor, his walk tense and perturbed. After what seemed like an age, the crisp yet dim light of the moon highlighted the stairwell that led them down into the pump station. The rusted, red and orange speckled door screeched open, and the rag-tag group piled inside, dumped their weapons, and began preparing for the business ahead.

The fire had all but burned out; Carlos busied himself relighting it while Joel took point, leading the two other men and their prisoners through the small, dilapidated and damp offices and assessing rooms until they came across a food storage pantry sealed by a large, noise-cancelling metal door, all of its contents long having been scavenged by the Eagle's Nest. The walls were pristine stainless steel, that had obviously been kept clean by the border guards; despite it being for a pump-station, the sewerage works had been manned judging by the bunks they passed on their short walk, and the presence of this pantry alluded to night shifts being a necessity before the apocalypse.

The room was small, but not constricting; there was enough room for three small metal chairs, and a stainless steel flat-topped trolley that Joel had deftly wheeled into the centre of the room. They had standing room, and enough space to pace up and down.

Initially, the two captives were bound to each of the metal chairs with the handcuffs they carried on their persons as standard issue. Adam took the single seat opposite them, with Blufor standing behind him. Joel moved over to a solitary corner in the room and stood there, scowling at no one in particular.

Blufor pulled a small syringe out of his ammo pouch, different to the dart she had loaded into her rifle; this one was blue, where hers had been red. Some chemistry jargon that she didn't understand was sprawled messily up the side of the tube.

"Ready to wake him up?" Blufor asked Adam.

"Only this one." He said, leaning forward to the smaller of the two men, the one that Joel had taken down. "Unfortunately, there isn't a chemical counter for boot to the face."

"Chemical counter?" She asked.

Blufor turned to address her.

"Yeah. The stuff they use is basically the same as general anaesthetic."

"General what?"

He smiled lightly. "Right, my bad. In hospitals before the Infection, people used to get operations to fix problems they had. Sometimes they were knocked out so they went to sleep and had no idea the operation was even happening until it was over. This stuff can wear off, but it takes a long time for the body to get rid of it. If you want it done quickly, you use a chemical that counters the effects."

"She nodded politely, satisfied with her answer. Adam was about to press the point of the syringe into the man's wrist when he hesitated, and turned to her.

"Are you sure you want to be in here?"

"Yes." She replied.

"Last chance."

"I'm sure."

He chose not to acknowledge her, simply turning and administering the counter to the guard who'd sustained the least injury. Sure enough, only a few minutes after the counter had been absorbed into the man's bloodstream, he began stirring.

"Wha... I don't, what's going..." The man uttered.

Blufor gently slapped the man on the cheek, rousing him to his senses.

"Wake up, sunshine." He said sarcastically.

The man slowly regained his senses, opened his eyes, and observed both Adam and Blufor. Eventually he realised his friend was sitting restrained next to him with a horrendously badly broken nose, and almost became hysterical.

"Wha, I don't... what the fuck?" He turned his eyes on Adam. "Sticks, Sticks is that you? What the hell is going on?"

Adam leaned in slightly to address the man. He spoke normally, his gentle Scottish accent taking centre stage.

"I hate to break it to you, but 'Sticks' isn't here."

Realisation hit the man immediately. His frightened expression reflected off the gleaming walls and floor, the situation seeming all too eerily familiar to Adam, Blufor and Joel.

"But... the fuck, man? Why would you do this to us?"

"I'm going to make this simple for you." Adam stated. "I'm a pretty nice guy, yeah? I like to talk to people, to find out what they're like... nice and peacefully."

"Peacefully..." The guard uttered in disbelief.

"My friends, here," He gestured to Adam and Blufor, "aren't as forgiving, are you boys?"

Blufor shook his head, and Joel cut viciously into the man with his eyes as he met his gaze.

"Therefore, I get to my main point. That town you're in isn't yours, is it?"

The man didn't respond, only keeping his mouth clenched shut and quivering in his seat.

"My friend." Adam began again. "I don't think you understand the severity of this situation."

"I... I ain't telling you anything, bro."

Adam briefly glanced downward, only to raise his head sharply and don a menacing smile as he played his high hand.

"Would you tell the Watcher?"

The man broke upon realising who he was conversing with.

"No, fuck no, it ain't our town!"

Adam nodded as the man stuttered and quivered nervously.

"Perhaps you'd like to tell me whose town it is?"

"I... I don't know!"

"I think you do."

"I don't! Some chick, Jade, Onyx or some shit?"

"Amber."

"That's it, yeah!" He sobbed gently. "Fuck, the fucking Watcher..."

Adam gently tapped the man under the chin, bringing his gaze back up.

"Concentrate, please." He continued. "So, we've established that it's Amber who owns the town. You took her, you and your syndicate, didn't you?"

"Yes..." The man sobbed. "Yes, yes we did..."

"Where?" Adam asked.

The word hit the man like a tonne of concrete. He stared at Adam in horror, his face completely white.

"I... I can't tell you. Simon, Simon will fucking kill me, I..."

"We'll kill you, too." Blufor added, only to be silenced at a gesture from Adam.

"You need to tell me where." Adam said, ignoring the comment.

"I can't, God... fuck, I can't..."

"Now."

"I can't tell you, man, please, just..."

"Last chance."

"I... I can't."

Adam relented his attempts, and turned to Blufor.

"Plan B." He said. His squadmate left the room, sealing the door behind him, and Joel moved over to help Adam heave the restrained man upwards, laying him on his back on top of the trolley, still bound to the thin metal chair. The man whimpered like a lost puppy the entire time, his noises of fear only increasing in intensity when Blufor re-entered the room, two plastic buckets filled to the brim with water in each of his hands, and a large bathroom towel slung over his right shoulder.

As Blufor approached the man, Adam moved away, gently taking her by the shoulder and moving her back toward the large metal door, away from the interrogation. She was quickly ushered by the Scotsman, and didn't resist his guidance, knowing her efforts would be futile. They reached the door and began opening it as the towel went over the man's head, and Joel raised one of the buckets.

"No, no! God, please... no, don't... I can't.. I can't tell you!" The man said desperately in between whimpers.

The sounds of pouring water and a tortured gurgling were cut off by the door as its plastic seals found their place, shutting firmly into the wall. The Scotsman began to lead her away from the room where she knew full well horrors would unfold, trying to keep as much of her innocence intact as possible. Part of her wanted to kick and protest, but the part that displayed itself was silently grateful for his consideration. They walked in silence, away from the interrogation.


	15. Chapter 15 - The Eagle's Nest - III

After almost two incredibly long hours, the muffled screaming echoing up the concrete hallways subsided, and was consumed by an eerie and all too empty silence. She sat there, gazing into the crackling fire, the heat gently pulsing on her face and drawing out the pains and aches that dominated her body. The gentle, swirling yellow and orange hues glistened and gleamed gently off the immaculately polished metal of the heavy revolver sitting comfortably in her gloved hands. They were almost dwarfed by the pommel; the coloured man across the fire knew as much, and stared longingly at the pristine handgun.

She sat there, transfixed, her mind empty as a whiteboard before a lecture. All the knowledge and processes she would need to handle during the day were currently absent, leaving her with a peculiar and brilliant-white anomaly where no thought or idea spawned. This was what fatigue truly felt like.

She had been told to sleep, and had tried; unfortunately, the chronic and haunting echoes of the interrogation seeped out of the cracks in the steel door and reverberated around the artificial rooms of the plant, pinning her to consciousness, unable to break away into sleep. When Blufor had come out to refill his buckets the third time, she gave up trying to kid herself and meandered lazily back to the fire, poking and prodding it and tossing the odd piece of kindling on it until it flickered up again to warm her gently with its glow. Upon seeing her take point, Carlos had also given up the fight and sat silently opposite her until the screams petered out.

Somewhere behind her, a door opened, although she couldn't discern where. The small noise was accompanied by heavy breathing and low mumbling, although most noticeably, the footfall of combat boots on cold concrete. She listened absently for their approach, but realised the worst when she heard muffled heaving and two muffled, corpse-like splashes that could only mean one thing. The Watcher had gone in there after he'd removed her… was he responsible for this?

She tried to convince herself that their deaths didn't matter, that they were just pawns in the great game that Adam was playing, but ever since they'd left Evelynn in the woodland chalet, the methods the Watcher and his colleagues employed had only seemed to grow increasingly visceral with each passing hour. She hadn't realised what a polar effect the scientist had on the veteran.

She only hoped that Amber was in a retrievable situation.

Joel sat next to her, with Blufor and Adam taking residence on the concrete floor surrounding the fire. Her guardian smiled at her dully, his wrinkled faced almost as fatigued as hers, and then gazed into the fire. No one spoke.

"Did you get what you wanted?" She asked, shattering the silence. Nobody reacted to her inquiry, and she was on the verge of asking more forcefully when Adam picked himself up, and in one swift movement, placed a small and black rectangular device on the floor in front of him. He knelt, and slipped a dilapidated tape into the recorder. Upon gently pushing a small button, a whirring emanated from the device, followed by a sickening gurgling, the quality lessened by the microphone in the recorder. They'd documented the interrogation.

"_Day 349, 2/5/36." _A voice remarkably similar to Adam's spoke between gurgles. "_Interrogation of two Martydom soldiers on whereabouts of Amber White. File will be documented for further use at the Watcher's discretion."_

"_Stop, fuck, stop, please, I-" _The gurgling continued.

"_Shut it." _A voice akin to Joel's spoke. "_Speak when you're spoken to."_

"_The fuck do you want, man?" _More gurgling.

A large crisp slap was heard.

"_Easy." _Blufor spoke. "_You don't want to talk to he other guy? That's just fine. Needless to say, you'll spill for us."_

A pause.

"_Where are you keeping her?"_

"_I told you, I can't say! Simon would rip me apart, that fucker is crazy. More than Dubrovnik. More than Pyotr! Do you even got a clue who you're fucking with?"_

"_We'll solve that problem later." _Blufor continued. "_For now, tell us where Amber is being kept."_

"_I can't! He'll fucking-"_

"_Kill you?" _Joel intervened. A knife was heard sliding out of its sheath.

"_You're not in the best of spots to be complaining about dying, son." _Joel said again.

"_No!" _The man screamed. "_I can't! I can't, for fuck's sake, please…"_

Rushing water was heard, hand in hand with the muffled choking that accompanied it.

Adam leaned down and pressed another button, speeding the interrogation forward. They tuned in again about an hour further through, although the context of the conversation was entirely the same. The complexity, however, had drastically decreased.

The gurgling, again.

"_Where's Amber?" _Blufor screamed.

"_I'm not telling you, you fuck!"_

The water rushed over the towel, and the victim choked and spluttered furiously. The voice was a different one to the guard she'd seen being questioned as she left; a dull whimpering could be heard in the background, presumably from him.

"_Where's Amber?" _Blufor bellowed again.

"_Fuck you!"_

This one was tougher, she noted.

The last of the water in the bucket was heard falling on the man's face, and onto the floor.

"_Where's Amber?" _A third time.

The man started laughing, almost insanely.

"_What? You think I ain't been interrogated before? You're getting nothing out of me, pig shit. Just keep pouring; the water's fine."_

Blufor started another bucket. Ellie winced slightly at the second guard's resistance to the torture; Carlos had told her that the technique had been used to simulate the feeling of drowning, and completely destroy the victim's mental fortitude without actually harming them. She imagined it to be a horrendous experience; what the hell had that guard done to treat this like a walk in the park?

"_Where's Amber?" _Blufor asked, his voice low, and his tone more pertinent than before.

"_When Simon gets to you," _The guard began, spitting out remaining water in his mouth, "_He ain't just gonna kill you. He's gonna rip you limb from limb, he's gonna roast you up and serve you to Clickers! He's gonna fucking destroy you, and there ain't anything you can-"_

The minuscule speakers on the tape recorder maxed out from a noise that could only have been a gunshot.

_ "What the fuck? No!"_The first guard shouted, his voice pathetic and quivering with fear.

There was a noticeable and eerie pause.

"_Adam?" _She heard Joel ask quietly. Blufor was silent.

She was taken aback by what she'd just heard. She cautiously raised her eyes to the Scotsman, fear rising in her throat. He didn't meet her gaze, and only stared into the swirling flames on the floor in front of him. There was an unusual expression on his face… was it a smile?

The recording continued.

"_Bring him up here." _The Watcher demanded, his voice pure poison, and possibly the most menacing thing she'd heard in a long time.

Small consternation echoed out of the speaker as the first guard was thrown into the tiny metal chair, his friend's corpse being strewn lazily on the floor. Handcuffs clicked, and the interrogation proceeded.

"_I'm sick of playing games." _Adam spoke, stressing the consonants on each word. "_You tell me where Amber is being held. Now."_

"_The old shipyards, down off 44! It's about a hundred miles West, but it's dangerous as fuck, there's-"_

"_Freelance Mercenaries operating in that area, right?" _Blufor interjected.

"_Yeah!" _The guard started again. "_They have a base somewhere around there, we couldn't find it, but… fuck, there, that's what you wanted!"_

"_Thank you."_Adam said sarcastically.

"_Yeah, whatever, now just please let me-"_

More choking. Was it the water boarding again?

The metal chair fell backwards with an immensely loud crash, and the guard exhaled for the last time.

Footsteps were heard moving toward the recording device.

"_Interrogation completed." _Adam spoke. "_Location of Amber roughly 100 miles West of Eagle's Nest. Confirmed Martyrdom activity in that area, as well as possible intervention by freelance mercenaries."_

The recording stopped, and the little tape player froze, now sitting lifelessly next to its owner.

Adam had killed them both, in cold blood.

"So where're we headed?" Joel asked, interrupting her fear-ridden thoughts.

"West, like the guy said." Blufor replied.

"What's waiting for us out there?" Carlos contributed.

"I don't know." Adam contributed. "Although we'd be stupid to think it'd be safe."

"He talked about a lot of activity in that area, from Martyrdom." Blufor told Joel.

It was her turn to inquire.

"What kind of activity?"

Blufor shrugged. "The usual. Hunting. Looting. Raping. What the red-rings do best."

"And freelance mercenaries." Adam muttered. "That's going to be a whole other dynamic."

"I agree." Blufor leaned forward. "We need to be careful here, Adam. The guy sounded as if it were World War Three over there. If these mercs get in our way-"

"Why not work with them?" Ellie piped up, causing the four men around the fire to shoot her curious glances in equal succession.

"How do you mean?" Adam inquired, intrigued. She smiled, but refused to meet his gaze. He didn't seem to notice.

"If they hate the red-rings too," she began, looking at the floor, "then they might work with us to fuck up their operations." She looked up to Blufor, looking past the Watcher.

"Might be they even help us save Amber."

The squad-mate mulled the situation for a moment.

"I like it." He said, smiling. "Adam?"

"I agree." Adam replied. "But, on one condition."

"And that is?"

"We don't disrupt their operations. We kill them." He looked at Ellie. "All of them."

She glanced down sharply in fear of her gaze. She was frightened deeply by the expression floating around in those yellow-stained emerald eyes.

"Adam…" Blufor began.

"No." He interjected. "All of them. They don't deserve to live."

Joel spoke up. "I'm thinkin' the same." His comment brought a wry smile from the Watcher.

Blufor dodged the comment and changed the subject.

"There's a city in the vicinity of the area the guard disclosed; without a doubt, that'll be the place I guarantee we'll find both red-rings and mercs. But, there'll also be-"

"Infected." Carlos muttered, his chestnut-brown eyes fixed on the fire.

"Yes. And a lot of them."

They sat in silence for a moment, none of them making eye contact with anybody else. She felt enraged and fearful of Adam, and the tension between them was almost palpable. She hoped he was ignorant to its existence; she was in no mind to see him tip over the edge, like the two unfortunate guards had witnessed moments before their deaths.

"We still got the problem of transport." Joel spoke. "A hundred miles ain't exactly a morning stroll."

"That's true." Blufor admitted. "Any thoughts, Adam?"

"We'll need something big, especially if we're going up against resistance."

He turned to his squadmate.

"You were on the inside for a lot longer than I was. What kind of armament does the Eagle's Nest have?"

Blufor's eyes lit up at the premonition Adam was alluding to.

"A few jeeps, and humvees. I was helping Amber was fix up an old Little Bird before the red-rings' capture, but it's nowhere near flyable." He thought for another moment. "There's an LAV hidden in compound. We stowed it in the basement of one of the warehouses. There may be a chance that they haven't found it."

Adam reacted with surprise.

"What, functioning?"

"Yeah." Blufor responded. "It was pretty beaten up when we found it, but we repped it up pretty good."

"Weaponry?"

"Two M240B mounted LMGs. Front and rear."

"No cannon?"

"No, unfortunately. It'd rusted out long before we found the vehicle."

"That's a shame. Could've used a 20mm AP gun."

Blufor chuckled.

"True enough."

"So, we're going for this LAV?" Joel inquired, his business face sliding on, and the calm, quiet Joel taking a backseat, letting the hardened survivor take the reins.

"It's a good plan, I'll admit." Blufor started. "Provided that we can get to the LAV without detection. Once were in control, there's not a hell of a lot they can do, so long as we bug out nice and quickly."

"Then, West?"

"Then West."

"All right." The Scotsman projected, standing back up to his maximum height, of which was now more intimidating than comforting. "What are we waiting for? Let's go."

"Now?" Carlos asked, almost stuttering at the premise. "You can't expect us to go back now, man!"

Adam stopped in his tracks, and a cold look of displeasure flashed across his face.

"I wasn't asking." He growled menacingly toward the dark man.

"It ain't dark, it's early morning." Joel added, bolstering Carlos' argument. "We sure as hell won't be sneaking in there."

The Watcher shrugged.

"We don't need to sneak."

"Come again?" Joel inquired.

He scooped some kindling up from the side of the fire.

"Sticks, remember?"

Joel sighed, and she remembered the two guards they'd spent the evening with, and how easily they'd bought Adam's ruse.

Carlos caught on to Adam's meaning and immediately objected.

"So, what?" He began, irritation in his tone. "You're gonna take us in as prisoners-"

"Yes." Adam idly interrupted.

"Without asking us first-"

"Yes." He interrupted again.

Carlos sat there in a daze, pausing for a moment.

"We only got outta there yesterday." He spoke, a lot more quietly than he had before. "They almost killed us. The fuck, man?"

"You got a better idea?" Blufor piped up, taking his old friend's side in the argument.

"I..." Carlos began. "I guess not."

"Well, then." The Scotsman stood and swung open the rusted metal fire-escape that led into the sprawling natural habitat above. The orifice opened, and bright, yellow-white sunlight careered down the concrete stairway and into the room, its brightness dwarfing that which the small fire produced.

Carlos sighed, shot Ellie a look that said 'here we go again', and made his way out of the door. Blufor followed suit, and then Joel left her side, sliding out of the doorway and into the morning sun.

She felt the sensation of her legs lifting her, despite her not remembering to tell them to stand. She moved slowly past the fire, but found herself halted adjacent to the Watcher.

He looked at her quizzically for a moment.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked politely, a warm smile stretching his face.

She met his gaze, and felt a small droplet of water leave her eye and cascade down her cheek. His expression immediately changed from courteous happiness to confused concern.

"You..." She began, stumbling over the words as she tried to form them. "You killed them."

His face tightened, now. "Ellie," He began, "you have to understand. These men don't deserve to live, the things they've done, they've-"

He went to place his hand on her shoulder, but she met his arm with her fist, and threw it away. Her hand throbbed afterwards, and she debated whether the big man had even felt her blow.

"Don't touch me!" She shouted, to see him rear backwards slightly. "Don't fucking touch me. You talk about integrity and mercy, and you shot them! You just fucking shot them."

"They were red rings."

"They were people!"

"Horrible people. Rapists and murderers!"

"No, Adam." She said, preparing her coup de grace. "You're the murderer."

Had she done too much? Been to harsh? Anger spread rapidly through the Scotsman's features, contorting his face brutally.

She managed to pluck up the courage to continue. "What would Evelynn think?"

He leaned in to her, close enough so that she could feel the warmth of his heavy breathing on her face. His glass-green eyes burned with anger, their yellow flecks visible, accusing her.

"Evelynn isn't here." His tone spoke volumes about his anger. That all too familiar sinking feeling crept up her stomach and into her chest.

He turned swiftly, placed the balaclava over his head and exited the plant, slamming the metal door forcibly as he left. He pulled it shut so hard that the hinges screamed, and for a moment, she thought they were going to rip themselves out of the wall entirely and come flying at her, as punishment for what she had just said to him. After a moments hesitation, she sighed, scooped the gleaming .44 Magnum off of the bench where she'd been seated, and followed him out of the door. By the time she'd reached the top of the stairwell, he had stormed ahead, past Blufor and Carlos, his assault rifle slung over his back and swaying from side to side as he strode away.

Joel was waiting for her, leaning on an old, rusted handrail.

"You okay?" He asked. She wondered how much of their argument he had overheard.

"Fine." She lied. "I'm fine, Joel."

He accepted her response, although it was obvious he didn't believe her. She walked past him, not desiring to continue the conversation. To her surprise, he followed her and matched her rapid pace.

"I know when something ain't right, kiddo. What's bothering you?"

She paused for a moment. Should she tell him?

No. If it came down to Joel against Adam... she wasn't sure if any of them would make it out alive.

"What I said to you the other day..." She lied again. "It was wrong of me. I shouldn't ever have said that to you, I... I know how much you've sacrificed to keep me safe."

He smiled warmly at her.

"Don't sweat it. Everyone has their spats at each other now and again. I certainly ain't gonna think anything of it."

"Thanks, Joel."

"It's okay."

They trudged through the warm and moist forest floor littered with yellowing leaves, and breathed in the cool, crystalline autumn air. It was a cold morning, but not unpleasantly so; even though she was comfortable, she wondered how far North they had strayed – it was considerably warmer back at Jackson. Another thing she missed. They walked quietly together for a few minutes, before Joel struck up conversation again. It was pleasantly unusual for him to be chatty.

"So what do you think?" He asked her.

"What?" She replied, unsure of his meaning.

"What do you think?" He asked again. "Of this, the whole situation."

She shrugged.

"I don't know. I mean, it's been a long time since we found people like these."

"What, ones who don't shoot you on sight?"

"Barring the red-rings, yeah."

He huffed slightly.

"That all?"

"No." She admitted. "I miss Jackson. I do. I miss Tommy, and the kids, and the horses, and everything. Don't get me wrong, Adam and Evelynn are swell, but... it's not the same."

"I hear you." He lifted a log for her to squeeze underneath, the dense and damp wood a light weight in his capable hands. She moved herself under deftly, and held it up for Joel as he quickly slid under and relinquished it from her grip. She didn't drop it; she was getting stronger, and he knew that. He smiled at her proudly, and continued walking, almost caught up to the other three men.

"Do you miss them?"

He looked at her funny.

"Of course I miss them. He's my brother, I miss him every day."

"Then why'd we leave?"

He cast his eyes downwards.

"Ellie..."

"Please?" She asked. "Please tell me."

"It's... it's not exactly a pleasant story."

"I'd like to hear it."

He inhaled, and then exhaled deeply, his breath clouding in the cool morning air. She saw his brow furrow as he remembered the details of his narrative.

"It began a long time before I met you. Probably before you were even born."

"Just after the outbreak?"

"Yeah." He said, continuing forward. "It was just Tommy and I. He never was that great at anything physical; he was the smart one. So, I had to keep him safe as best I could. Starting off, I was pretty similar to how Adam is now, but... the reality is, the nice guys are all dead."

"You don't mean that."

"I do." He countered. "In this world, Ellie, there ain't nothing that's personal. You shoot first, or you die."

"I get that, but..." Her thoughts turned back to Adam gunning down the two captive guards, and her voice trailed off.

He stopped. "But we had to leave, because I had that mindset and Tommy didn't. I'm the soldier, and he? He's the civilian. The family man, if you like. I found myself... almost wanting to get in trouble. It weren't right. That's when I knew I had to leave there, and I sure as hell weren't leaving you behind."

"Why not?" She asked, confused.

He ruffled her hair. She was nearly as tall as he was now, coming up to his shoulders. It was almost an effort for him to show affection in the manner he wanted to.

"We have too much fun, you and I."

She chuckled. "I guess so."

They stood there for a moment, just enjoying the feeling of the air between them once again being cleared. She had never known her father, but she was adamant that Joel was better than he'd ever been.

The bliss was shattered by the Watcher's arrival.

"We're about five minutes out." He said bluntly, still apparently scorned from their earlier argument. His balaclava was back on, concealing his identity, and his had slung the weathered assault rifle down into his hands. She glanced at the safety, and swallowed when she saw it was off. She didn't expect Adam to do anything hostile towards her or Joel, but... after their clash, she wasn't convinced that he wouldn't, either.

"In front of me." He said. "They may have men in the forest."

The stood in front of the Scotsman and began walking, with him following closely behind. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up at his presence, and was immensely relieved when they caught up to Blufor and Carlos, who took their places and separated her from the Watcher and his assault rifle. Needless to say, she was beginning to understand the fear of him that the nearby area held.

A few minutes passed with nothing to document, until Adam lifted his radio to his face, and again slipped into the ruse of Sticks.

"Martyr Base, Martyr base, over."

The radio crackled into life, and he held it closely to his face, the damaged grey assault rifle hanging loosely in his right hand.

_"This is Martyr Base, over."_

"Sticks, reporting in. Four escaped captives in custody. They ambushed us and killed the two who were manning the gate last night."

_"Shit, Simon was wondering where they'd gotten to. You have the situation under control, over?"_

"Affirmative."

_"Alright, bring them in. We'll throw them in the cells with the other-"_

"No." Adam interjected. "This is personal. Let me take them to Warehouse 3 for some... negotiations."

A strange noise echoed out of the speaker, that could only have been a sigh.

_"All right." _The radio spoke. _"Take them there. Just keep them alive, you know Simon doesn't want deaths."_

"That's fine." Adam replied. "Keep the big guy off my tail, okay? He won't exactly condone my methods but... trust me. They deserve it."

_"He always did have a weak stomach. Use the West Gate, sticks." _

_"_Will do. Sticks out."

He slipped the radio back onto his lapel with a swift movement, and pulled the assault rifle back up into shooting position.

"All right, that's sorted. Weapons down here, please."

Carlos put down one of the sniper rifles, a torn expression on his face, and Blufor laid the second one down on the fauna-covered forest floor, adjacent to the first. Joel slipped a 9mm pistol out of his belt, and stowed it in a hollowed-out log beside them.

Upon rising, Blufor questioned his comrade.

"How did you know we had three warehouses?"

Adam shrugged. "I didn't." He followed the statement with a wry smile.

"Which one's the LAV in?" Carlos inquired, his voice slightly quivering. "I don't wanna bump into Simon again."

"It's underneath Warehouse 2." Blufor confirmed. "No one goes in it, it's structurally unsound. We shouldn't have too much trouble there."

"All right." Adam said, gesturing towards the thinning forest. "Everyone ready?"

Joel let out a quiet sigh.

"As ready as we'll ever be." He murmured. Adam didn't hear, or chose to ignore the comment. He moved forward, and she and the others followed, with Adam trailing closely behind.

The bush began to recede, and shrubs gave way to cool, short green grass. Her boots were moistened by the morning dew, and she revelled in the relaxing air while she still could; they were about to re-enter the Dragon's den, and she had a hunch they wouldn't be as lucky the second time around. Eventually, they arrived at the forest's perimeter, and the same, ugly, grey, damp-ridden walls slid into sight.

They emerged into the clearing, and Adam shoved the barrel of his gun into Blufor's back, ushering him into the clearing. Luckily, the squadmate predicted the gesture, and mocked pain as he jumped forward, raising his hands. Joel mimicked him, and she and Carlos followed suit. Adam moved to her side, and raised his hand to the gate.

There were two guards on post; one of whom had obviously been there all night, and had almost jumped out of his skin when his colleague had roused him from sleep to raise their guns at the group.

"You one of ours?" The guard who'd been awake hollered.

"Sure am." Adam replied, his American accent proving to be consistently convincing.

"All right, bring them in."

The guard turned and spoke into his radio as Adam ushered them forward. The rusted and dilapidated steel gate swung open, the spikes on its front receding as it peeled away from the cinder-block perimeter wall. Behind it stood another three red-rings, their weapons all trained on the captives.

Before she knew it, they were passing through, underneath the gate, and back into the throng of the Eagle's Nest. In the distance, she hear muffled voices, some louder than others, advertising; the morning market must be in full swing by now. She was shocked that the civilian population were still ignorant to the infamy of the group that had silently conquered their home.

She found suddenly that she had walked astray, and quickly jumped back to the group, looking upwards and receiving a piercing look from two of the by-standing soldiers. She faked a look of fear, and hobbled away from them, hoping that they'd bought her show.

They passed the mingling guards, and she heard the tell-tale sound of the gate swinging shut behind them. There was no turning back now. She observed her surroundings, absorbing their route as she went. At one point, she thought she saw a familiar face staring at her, and tried to get a closer look. The young woman had turned away from her when she took her second glance, and as a result she was unable to confirm her identity. She couldn't shake the feeling that they'd met before, though, and not pleasantly.

Adam walked a little faster, bringing his body into the group to address them.

"We're in, good work. Keep the acting up. Now we've just got to head over to that warehouse, and we'll plough our way out of here."

The market was visible to their right, colourful and vibrant and odd-smelling, with wares being bartered for left right and centre. Stores sold ammunition, weaponry, clothing, meat, bread, and much more. Women and children frequented the event, although there were also a large amount of men; although, she noticed none were between the age of twenty and fifty – they were most likely residing in the cells.

"What about the market?" She gestured to her right. "We just gonna plough through that?"

"No." Adam whispered forcefully. "Only if we have to. My plan is to head straight out the North Gate, up past the old fuel depots, and then-"

The scotsman's head shot up at an inhuman speed, followed by hers and the rest of the groups', as they observed the gargantuan man stride around the corner, accompanied by two lackeys.

"Sticks!" The mammoth man shouted, laughing, his voice thick with southern tones. "I heard you were back! It's good to see you."

"Simon!" Adam feigned happiness at the sight of the brute. She realised that this Simon was the same one she'd overheard in the prison cell two days prior... he was the commander of this operation, and a fearful one at that.

"Heard you had a bit of a situation last night! We lost two men, did we not?"

"We sure did." Adam admitted. "Turns out they don't shoot straight when they're drunk."

The huge man ran a shovel-sized hand over his white-blonde crew-cut. A large vein stuck out in his forehead, and his muscles bulged out from underneath his tank-top; where Adam's muscle was aesthetic as well as strong, Simon's was simply grotesque. Still, she didn't exactly savour the thought of having him chase her down a corridor.

Simon chuckled, and brought Adam in for a tight embrace. She was dully surprised that the bear-hug hadn't broken Adam's ribs.

"Well, it's good to have you back. I need good men like you!"

"Yes sir." Adam spoke timidly, stepping back from the embrace and dusting himself off. She quickly averted her gaze to the floor when Simon's melon-sized head turned its focus on her and the others.

"I heard you were taking them to the warehouse?"

"Yeah, I was." Adam replied. "You should've seen what they did to the others, Simon. They don't deserve to just be locked up."

She saw the big man shudder slightly at the premonition of torture. Apparently, the civilised and collected Simon that presented himself for the majority of the time wasn't a fan of blood and gore. She had no doubt, however, that his enraged side loved the stuff.

"All right, I trust your judgement." He said. "But I want them alive, you hear?"

"Of course." Adam nodded courteously.

With that, Simon smiled a toothy grin that only made his stern face even uglier to behold. He moved past the group, and with his lackeys in tow, made his way over the the bustle of guards they'd left behind at that gate.

Adam immediately motioned them to move when the brute had passed them by. They began to walk away from the noise, until the clutter and sound of the street market became muffled, and then faded entirely. They rounded several corners, past rusted storage containers and barrels, crates and electrical transformers, and other debris; it took them almost as long to find the warehouses as it had taken to get to the town from the pump station.

Upon arrival in the industrial complex, she stared upwards in awe at the three huge structures before her. Steel gurders held up vast tracts of corrugated iron, some of which may have been nearly thirty meters in length; the sheer scale of the buildings was what surprised her most. She been in cities before, and seen all the colossal structures there, but... it was almost hard to believe that people had enough stuff to fill three buildings meant only for possessions. She only owned a handful of things, and they were always on her person.

They approached the buildings, only to find the first was locked and barred from the exterior.

Joel moved forward and shook the chains barring the double-door, in vain hope that they'd relinquish under his movement.

"We ain't getting in here." He stated.

Adam stood in silence, until Blufor took up residence beside him and negated his worries.

"There, do you see that?" He gestured towards an old hatch to their left, almost covered over by the rising grasses. The dark-green metal was only just visible.

"The hatch?"

"Yeah." He confirmed. "That drops down into a corridor that leads to the basements. It's how the workmen would get in when they didn't want to open the garage doors in the front. Amber and I keep the helicopter in Warehouse 1."

"The helicopter." Joel said, confirming the existence of the vehicle. "What's say the red-rings didn't finish what you two started?"

Blufor glanced around the dilapidated compound.

"No, they would'nt have the supplies. Plus, they haven't even been here yet. The barricades on the doors were put here by Amber, just over a month back."

"Thank god for that." Adam said, moving over the the metal plate in the ground. Upon arrival, instead of simply leaning down and examining the hatch, he straightened up and turned to Blufor, his face plastered with concern.

"What is it?" Blufor inquired, breaking the silence.

"It's not been locked. No bolts, nothing. Yet the chains and planks barring all the main doors are relatively knew, are they not?"

"He's right, there could be someone around." Joel confirmed, turning to Blufor. "There ain't much point in turning back now, though."

The squadmate sighed.

"All right, we'll chance it. You first, Gunny."

Adam did as bid, and deftly removed the hatch-lid from its hold, placing it silently on the grass next to him, and lowered himself, slowly, into the blackness of the corridor below. There was a brief moment of silence, and an echoing thud as he hit the floor.

"Watch out." His voice reverberated out of the hole, just loudly enough to be audible. "It's a two meter drop."

His face came into view in the hole, lit by the meagre supply of light the sun gave. Carlos followed next, traversing the obstacle in silence, and standing in the hole, with Adam, without so much as uttering a word. Blufor went down afterwards, and raised his hands back through the hole, gesturing to her.

"You next, Ellie."

Joel picked her up, and gently eased her down the hatch, and she thought she was going to fall until Blufor's definite and strong hands clasped around her knees, lowering her into the darkness. She moved out of the way, and Joel jumped in after her, swaying slightly from the drop, and leaving the hatch open. No one seemed to notice, and she let the matter slide.

Carlos took a flashlight out of his backpack, and flicked it on illuminating the eerie space. The corridor extended out in front of them, into pitch-black darkness, and from this perspective it appeared infinite. There were small rooms to their left, almost like offices, and she heard the scurrying of rats, disturbed by the unusual human presence. At one point, she thought she'd heard voices behind her, but dismissed the idea as ridiculous.

They strode slowly down the corridor and bypassed the entry to Warehouse 1's basement, a large, push-bar double door with reinforced glass windows that still hung strongly in its frame. She tried to gaze through the window, trying to spy something remotely helicopter-shaped, but couldn't find anything of interest, and was quickly reigned in and ushered forward by Joel.

They quickly reached the second door, the one marked with a yellow '2' above the entryway. Adam gently placed his hands on the push-bar and put some force in, and the metal door silently swung open, to revealing the vast, darkened expanse in front of them. In the very centre of the massive basement, barely visible, was a large object covered by a tarpaulin. Her heart skipped a beat with happiness at the premise that their escape was at hand.

Adam entered the room first, and everyone else poured in behind him. Carlos directed the flash light toward the large, covered object, illuminating the green and oil-stained canvas in a harsh white light. Adam gestured to Blufor, and the two moved toward the tarp, taking hold of either side. She stood next to Joel and gazed at the object in awe of what it could be.

The tarp flew upwards, revealing the concealed entity.

Large, rectangular wooden crates were piled to two meters high, and extended the length of the basement. There was no vehicle, or anything that resembled transport in sight.

Adam was taken aback.

"It's not here." He murmured quietly, his breathing becoming ragged and heavy. "It isn't here. Blufor, it isn't fucking here!"

"I know!" The squadmate replied, trying to alleviate his friend's tension. "I swear, before they came, it was right here! They must've-"

"Moved it?" A voice echoed out from behind them. A light switch clicked on, followed by the sound of a least five safeties being switched off, their dull metallic clicks echoing around the concrete basement. The lights slowly flickered into life, one by one, revealing Simon's hulking figure crowding the doorway, a huge LMG clutched in his hands. There were others with him, but only two gun barrels managed to squeeze between the commander's gargantuan arms and the doorframe.

"Guess you missed that intel meeting, huh, Sticks?" Said a new voice, from outside the door; younger, and female, yet with the same poison that dominated Simon's tones, and as condescending as all hell.

Buck squeezed between Simon and the door, into view, her right arm sewn up at the stump where Joel's bullet had torn her hand clean off. She held a 9mm pistol in her good hand, and trained it on Ellie the moment she made eye contact. "Thought it was you I saw back out there, runt. Wasn't sure, though, til I saw your attack dog. Then I knew something was up, and... well, the word is that Sticks ain't who he says he is." She gestured to Joel. "Thanks for this by the way, you motherfucker!"

"Gimme your other hand." Joel replied. "I'm sure I can do it again."

"Enough." Simon yelled. "What's going on here?"

"Shut up, oaf." She spat at Simon, and then pointed her pistol toward Adam. "Are you really that fucking dense that you don't know who he is?"

Simon turned his machine gun on Adam, finally comprehending that the Scotsman had been playing a ruse the entire time. Ellie saw his melon-head redden as he swallowed his rage.

"Who are you, Sticks? What does she mean?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Simon." Adam replied, still trying to play the American.

"Quit bullshitting." Buck shouted, poison dripping off her words. "He's not Sticks, you fucking moron! He's the Watcher. The motherfucking Watcher, hiding under your fat nose this whole time!" She turned back to face Adam. "Why don't you show the gorilla you real face?"

The Scotsman said nothing, only pausing briefly and staying stock still. Then, in realisation that there was no other option, he raised the balaclava off of his face, and let his auburn hair fall down over his head in medium-length, sweat-coated locks. At the sight of his face, Simon tensed, every muscle in his body tightening horribly, like a collection of overfilled balloons.

Adam's hands slowly moved behind his back, and he started to deftly remove a small, rectangular shaped canister from his belt.

"Motherfucker." Simon said. It was the only time she'd ever heard the big man swear, his civility completely abashed by rage.

Adam pulled the pin out of the cylinder, and clamped his hand down on the lever. He held the object for a mere moment, winked at her, and then hurled it downrange, directly at Simon. Blufor, Carlos and Joel all covered their ears and looked sharply at the floor.

It exploded in the air, directly infront of Simon's face, in a brilliant and incomprehensibly white light. Her ears peaked at the noise it made, and an immensely loud ringing was the only sound she heard for a few moments. As the noise in her head began to clear, it was replaced by the equally loud thrum of automatic gunfire, as a pair of strong hands scooped her up and dragged her along at immense speed. Her whole world span and revolved around her, and every now and again she'd catch glimpses of Joel through the whiteness still overpowering her eyes. He shouted - she didn't hear what he said – and the movement of his lips was followed by another immense bang, more explosive this time, and large segments of corrugated iron flew past them, allowing daylight to pour in through the vast orifice they'd created.

Once again she was moving, the strong arms underneath her whisking her away from the danger that had erupted. Slowly, she began to reclaim her senses, and found her feet. She was sprinting as fast as she could, behind Joel, Blufor and Adam, with Carlos trailing behind her. There were others, as well; she bustled past throngs of civilians, all of whom were screaming and scrambling to get away from the turmoil that had all but destroyed their morning market. She thought they had escaped the mammoth man and the bitch, until she stopped next to the others, hiding behind a steel livestock trailer parked in the quad. The wall infront of them soared meters into the sky, with bullets raining down from its height and barraging their cover.

Adam answered with more rounds, but in short, calculated bursts, and the assailants from the wall soon began to tumble and fall into the crowd below. Shots burst out from behind them too, erratically, in volleys, but Joel answered, firing the same thought-out and small bursts with an acquired assault rifle, dropping red-ring after red-ring as they tried to move through the civilians fleeing the scene.

Adam moved up to his height, put a burst into the chain around the gate, and kicked the rusted metal apart in one swift and immensely strong movement. Blufor practically threw her over the stall, to Adam, who bustled her out of gate, with Blufor following closely behind. Adam and Joel stood at the gate, guarding their escape, their short bursts echoing around the market street.

In front of her, two men moved swiftly out of their seats in an improvised four-man dune buggy, advancing, only to be met by Blufor's military training. The first man swung, missed, and caught Blufor's fist in his temple, falling immediately into unconsciousness. The second swung a knife forward with all his weight, only to be redirected by the veteran, who sent the knife straight into the assailant's own gut. Adam and Joel swiftly moved past her, taking up seats in the buggy as Blufor wrestled with the ignition, trying to coax some life into the vehicle.

A voice called out behind her.

"Help! Fuck, help me!"

She wheeled around a few feet away from the car to see Carlos, pinned by metal trailer they'd taken cover behind, his leg mangled and caught in the reinforcement beneath.

Without thinking, she ran away from the car, towards the dark-skinned man, convinced that she needed to rescue him. A voice behind her called her name desperately, and one of the three men jumped down to chase after her.

She was faster.

She reached Carlos in moments, and began to work at trying to free his mangled leg from the poles of the trailer, paying no recognition to the red-ringed silhouettes pouring towards her, or the man firing at them behind her. Carlos was distraught, and she tried her hardest to free him.

More soldiers entered the square, immediately taking up positions where others fell. Bullets flew in hailstorms, everywhere.

She gave up; it was useless. She tried to say "I'm sorry", but no words escaped her mouth. She turned and made for the exit, before a dark hand clamped down on her leg and pulled her to the floor, the breath being stolen from her body as she crashed into the dirt.

"No, please!" Carlos screamed. "Don't fucking leave me!"

Adam was suddenly beside her, a scowl plastered on his face. He paused for a minuscule moment, calculating what to do.

His assault rifle fired, and a burst tore through Carlos' arm, relinquishing his firm grip on Ellie's calf. The dark-skinned man screamed in agony, his voice almost being drowned out by the sound of gunfire and the shouts of commanding officers. He reared backwards, hiding in the wreckage of the trailer, his face a mix of agony and betrayal.

Adam stood, fired a few more times, and then pulled her up and swung her over his shoulders. The suddenness of the movement shocked her, as his full strength was displayed for the first time. In mere seconds they were out of the gate, and clambering into the back of the buggy. She drew the Magnum from the inside of her jacket, and managed to loose her entire chamber before the shitty vehicle managed to roar into life, and began careering down the dirt road laid out before them.

The red-rings followed them out in droves, laying down as much fire as possible, with less shots finding their mark as they speedily pulled away.

The wind rushed through her hair, smearing the blood on the side of her face that'd been splattered there when Carlos' forearm had exploded, allowing Adam to free her.

She turned her gaze away from the fearsome town, banishing her memories and the horrible look on Carlos' face, and glanced to her left, observing the man that until a few moments ago she had deemed a monster and a murderer.

He was sitting there, breathing heavily, clearly upset at that fact he had to leave a man behind. Despite that... he'd saved _her_. He'd chosen her over a fit and capable man. Chosen a loved one over a stranger.

Maybe she was starting to understand what Joel meant by "You shoot first, or you die."


End file.
